The City of Santa Rosa has been awarded nearly $3.9 million in funding from the State of California’s Encampment Resolution Funding Program (ERF). The grant monies will be used to address encampments in the Southwest and Southeast regions of Santa Rosa and to provide residents who reside in those encampments with comprehensive services to help them move into housing.
“The Southwest and Southeast portions of Santa Rosa were identified in the City’s ERF grant application as a Priority Project Area,” said Kelli Kuykendall, the City’s Housing and Community Services Manager – Homeless Services.” We decided to target this region in our funding request based on a history of large encampments in the area, significant impacts on the surrounding area, and equity priority data.”
The city’s highest concentration of residents who are black, indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC) live within the priority area, and six of the encampment sites are within census tracts with the highest concentration of people living in poverty. Approximately 75 people live within 14 encampments in the area at any given time.
The City will receive $3,883,032 in grant funding to be used over the next three years to conduct more outreach to help residents move from encampments into emergency shelter or the City’s Safe Parking Program. More follow-up case management services will also be provided, such as financial housing assistance to help residents locate and maintain housing. The funding will support four additional outreach workers, two case managers, Safe Parking Program operations, and a vehicle for the expanded outreach team. Additionally, enhancements will be made to the Safe Parking Program.
The City aims to serve 225 people in the project area, with at least 90 moving into interim housing or emergency shelter, and 60 into permanent housing by June 30, 2026.
Homelessness is a critical concern in the City of Santa Rosa and resolving it is a top priority of the City Council. Visit SRCity.org/HomelessSolutions for more information about the City’s work to address homelessness, and resources available to the community.