What is the City doing to address homelessness in our community?

Addressing homelessness in Santa Rosa remains a top priority of the City Council, supported by $8.5 million in funding in 2023/24, including one-time Encampment Resolution Funding ($3.8M) for a three-year period. Two interdepartmental teams – the Homeless Action Team (HAT) and the City’s Encampment Team – coordinate the City’s response. Representatives from Police, Fire, Housing and Community Services, Transportation & Public Works, Water, City Manager’s Office, City Attorney’s Office, and the Communications & Intergovernmental Relations Department meet weekly and work together with community partners to provide outreach, emergency shelter, housing, and services to persons experiencing homelessness. The City also participates in Sonoma County’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program, a collaborative effort to ensure alignment with a broader regional strategy and leverage federal and state resources to end homelessness. 

In November 2022, the City adopted a five-year Strategic Plan to address the critical concern of homelessness in Santa Rosa. The Homelessness Solutions Strategic Plan provides key strategies and actions to improve the City’s response to homelessness in alignment with the regional system of care, the Sonoma County Continuum of Care, with the ambitious goal of achieving “Functional Zero” homelessness in Santa Rosa by 2027. More information about homeless services provided by the City is available on the City’s website under Programs and Initiatives.

The homeless count conducted as part of the 2023 Sonoma County Point-In-Time Count showed a countywide 27-percent decrease in homelessness since 2015, from 3,107 individuals to 2,266 individuals. Most recently, the number of individuals experiencing homelessness countywide decreased by approximately 22% between 2022 and 2023 with a 30% decrease in Santa Rosa. More data on the outcomes of homeless services provided by the City is available on the City’s website under Data.

Show All Answers

1. What is the City doing to address homelessness in our community?
2. Where can people go rather than living on the streets?
3. What is being done about encampments on public property?
4. What can be done about encampments on private property?
5. What are the legal constraints to the City’s ability to address encampments?
6. Does the City have an ordinance related to homeless encampments?
7. Does the City enforce laws about vehicles/RVs parked on City streets?
8. How do I request signage to restrict street parking?
9. What is being done about illegal activity?
10. How can I help?