With the help of state grant funds, the city has removed longstanding homeless encampments in a heavily impacted part of the East Village neighborhood, Mayor Todd Gloria announced Wednesday.
“Thanks to these additional resources, we have been able to clear these unsafe and unsanitary encampments in downtown, and also put those who were living in them on a path to housing,” Gloria said in a statement.
Gov. Gavin Newsom noted that the state “has removed over 5,600 encampments and is providing funding to local communities to address the needs of individuals living in these areas. It’s time for more local governments to utilize these funds to tackle homelessness throughout the state.”
In October 2022, the city’s Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department was awarded $2.45 million from the California Interagency Council on Homelessness Encampment Resolution to assist the city agency’s E Street Encampment Project. The project focused on a string of encampments consisting of 76 unsheltered people along the blocks surrounding the U.S. Post Office and the long-vacant Downtown Central Library, from Broadway to F Street and Seventh to 10th avenues in East Village. The goal of the program was to put each homeless person on a path to long-term housing.
Outreach workers identified and worked with residents in the target area, successfully connecting them to housing, shelter or the city’s Safe Sleeping program, according to city officials.
“There are fewer encampments downtown today because this state program helps move people into the new safe sleeping sites, shelter beds and housing created by the mayor and city council,” Councilman Stephen Whitburn said in a statement. “I’m pleased to hear many residents say they see significant improvement downtown, and there will be even more progress in the coming year.”
City News Service contributed to this article.
