County of Santa Clara Approves More Affordable Housing for Families with Children
Another major round of affordable housing developments is added to the pipeline; County also declares commitment to ending youth homelessness
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF. – The County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors approved several measures on Tuesday that will create more affordable homes for families and youth in the area. In a sweeping vote, the Board of Supervisors gave its support for three new projects that add to a total of 1,000 family units in the County’s affordable housing pipeline. In the same action, the Board also adopted a resolution declaring the County’s commitment to ending homelessness for youth and young adults in Santa Clara County in the next five years.
“We are fully focused on our goal of ending family homelessness by 2025 and youth homelessness by 2027,” said Miguel Márquez, J.D., Chief Operating Officer for the County of Santa Clara. “We’ve invested heavily in expanding all of our housing programs to not only get families off the street but also to prevent them from falling into homelessness in the first place. Santa Clara County is a place where we take care of each other, and there are few things closer to this goal than keeping our families and youth safe and housed.”
The three new developments approved on Tuesday include 332 units in San José, Morgan Hill, and Sunnyvale that will help families with children, those with special needs, agricultural workers, and other low-income residents. The projects will be funded by $29 million from the 2016 Measure A Affordable Housing Bond and No Place Like Home funds.
To date, the $950 million Housing Bond approved by voters in 2016 has committed nearly $793 million. Across the board, the County’s supportive housing efforts now include 44 projects that are either completed, under construction, or will soon break ground. That totals 4,773 units that can house 10,534 people.
The Board’s vote on Tuesday also formally endorsed the Community Plan to End Youth and Young Adult Houselessness, led by a Youth Action Board that accounts for the unique needs and experiences of vulnerable young people. There are an estimated 1,100 youth and young adults who need safe housing in Santa Clara County on any given night, and while significant efforts have been made to increase resources, the needs far exceed the current capacity of programs. The newly endorsed plan details a roadmap of how to best spend $10.4 million in federal funding recently awarded to the County’s Continuum of Care (CoC) to expand efforts to tackle youth homelessness over the next two years.
“We are seeing a very rapid ramp up of much needed housing and resources for our most vulnerable residents – from families and youth to agricultural workers – but we’re also keenly aware of how much work remains to help our entire community afford a place to live in Silicon Valley,” said Consuelo Hernández, Director of the County of Santa Clara Office of Supportive Housing. “Every decision, from expanding preventive services to approving new housing sites, is focused on long-term investments to make our community livable for everyone. We need continued resources on every level – including state and federal – and the ongoing support of our city partners to end homelessness in the entire county.”
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ABOUT THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA
The County of Santa Clara government serves a diverse, multi-cultural population of 1.9 million residents in Santa Clara County, California, making it more populous than 14 states in the U.S. The County provides essential services to its residents, including public health protection, environmental stewardship, medical services through the County of Santa Clara Health System, child and adult protection services, homelessness prevention and solutions, roads, park services, libraries, emergency response to disasters, protection of minority communities and those under threat, access to a fair criminal justice system, and many other public benefits.
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Media Contact: Laurel Anderson / Quan Vu, Office of Communications and Public Affairs, (408) 299-5119, [email protected]
Posted: June 28, 2022