March 2025

The City of Modesto recently celebrated the grand opening of a new housing complex to support people experiencing homelessness. 835 California Avenue, the site of the new housing project, started off as a single-family home. With help from the Stanislaus County Affordable Housing Corporation, the city was able to convert this singular home into seven affordable multifamily units.

835 California provides essential housing and resources for vulnerable populations, including supportive services for those with behavioral health challenges.

HCD was able to contribute almost $1.7 million to this important project through the No Place Like Home (NPLH) Program. This program, much like voter-approved Proposition 1’s Homekey+ program, provides supportive services and mental health care to persons with behavioral health challenges who are chronically homeless, homeless, or at-risk of becoming chronically homeless.

835 California serves as a reminder to all California communities that big steps aren’t the only important steps. To create enough housing that is affordable to all, every new home matters.

One year ago, Patrick was experiencing homelessness and suffering from drug addiction. Now sober and living in Neighborhood Village in Goshen, Patrick is loving life and feeling positive and thankful. Neighborhood Village was supported by HCD’s Multifamily Housing, Permanent Local Housing Allocation and Regional Early Action Planning Grant 2.0 programs.

Big changes are coming to Treasure Island in San Francisco. HCD recently joined the San Francisco Transportation Authority and other honored guests to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Hillcrest Road Improvement project. This project, which received $30 million from HCD’s Infill Infrastructure Grant program, will change Hillcrest Road into a one-way, two-lane road with a designated on-road bike lane—leaving space to convert the bike lane to a multi-modal pathway for pedestrians and cyclists in the near future.

The conceptual design includes the construction of new retaining walls further set into the hillside, guardrails, street and pedestrian level lighting, and concrete barriers for safety. This Capital Improvement Project will support the development of over 800 new homes destined for construction on the island as a part of the Treasure Island Master Plan project.

The Treasure Island Master Plan project will use over 400 acres on the island to create a new San Francisco neighborhood. This neighborhood will focus first on affordable housing for homeless island residents and will create the sustainable infrastructure necessary to support the new community, including transportation connections, access to parks, restaurants, stores, and more.

The California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) today unveiled its 2025-2027 Statewide Action Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, a bold and data-driven roadmap to address one of the state’s most urgent crises. This three-year plan sets goals for the state and helps advance the state’s work to strengthen accountability for local governments receiving state funds.

“I applaud Cal ICH’s work in developing this Action Plan,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “It is not just a report of our historic investments, but a directive for continued accountability and action towards specific quantifiable goals.”

“This is a defining moment,” said Tomiquia Moss, Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency (BCSHA) Secretary and Cal ICH Co-Chair. “We are doubling down on accountability, partnerships, and solutions that work. Together, we will make a lasting impact.”

“This Action Plan outlines clear goals to help the state effectively tackle homelessness. To accomplish these goals, we must continue to keep those we serve at the center of all our work,” said Kim Johnson, Health and Human Services Agency Secretary and Cal ICH Co-Chair. “This means actively listening to those with lived experience and using data to drive action with a laser focus on integrating housing, health, and human services so that in a moment of crisis, an individual or family does not need to navigate their way through multiple systems to get the help they need. It also means as a state, we must continue to tackle the upstream need for more affordable housing statewide.”

“California has made historic investments to combat homelessness, but to truly drive progress, we need accountability that demands results, for the state and our local partners” said Meghan Marshall, Cal ICH Executive Officer. “This plan is a commitment to measurable outcomes and shared responsibility, ensuring that every dollar spent brings us closer to a future where homelessness is rare, brief, and one-time.”

Five Goals to Drive Impact 

The 2025-2027 Action Plan establishes five interconnected goals aimed at reducing homelessness and ensuring more Californians have access to stable housing:

1. Help more people leave unsheltered homelessness
2. Help more people move into housing
3. Ensure people do not experience homelessness again
4. Prevent more people from experiencing homelessness
5. Create more housing

California’s Commitment to Action 

With $40 billion invested in housing and $27 billion in provided to communities to prevent and end homelessness, California has committed unprecedented resources to this issue. The 2025-2027 Action Plan builds on these investments, ensuring every effort is strategic, measurable, and results oriented.

Accountability for All 

Reflecting the priorities of Californians, the first goal of the Action Plan is to help more people leave unsheltered homelessness, underscoring shared commitment to moving individuals off the streets and into stable housing. All the goals move towards the desired outcome of creating more housing to ensure Californians all have a place to call home.

Governor Gavin Newsom has emphasized the need for accountability across all levels of government in addressing homelessness.New accountability measures in programs such as the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s (HCD) Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) will ensure that communities receiving financial support demonstrate tangible progress in housing placements, service delivery, and long-term stability for people transitioning out of homelessness. These include an increased focus on resolving encampments, requirements that recipients have a compliant housing element to obtain future funding, and requirements that grantees obligate and expend past awards before receiving new funds. These strengthened measures will better ensure real, measurable results and will improve the tracking of data and outcomes.

As part of the proposed 2025-2026 budget, the Governor has called for even stronger accountability measures as a condition on any additional state funding, including requirements that grantees have and maintain a compliant housing element, prioritization for communities designated as “pro-housing,” and mechanisms to claw back funding from local governments that fail to demonstrate progress.

“California is investing in solutions, and local jurisdictions must be accountable for delivering real results,” said Gustavo Velasquez, HCD Director and Cal ICH councilmember. “This plan is about ensuring successful outcomes. For communities to receive continued support, they must show measurable progress in reducing homelessness.”

A Data-Driven, Equity-Centered Approach

The 2025-2027 Action Plan leverages statewide homelessness data to drive decision-making, monitor progress, and address racial disparities in homelessness. The plan emphasizes housing-first solutions, coordination among state and local agencies, and embedding racial equity into every strategy to ensure that historically marginalized communities receive targeted support.

For more information and to access the full 2025-2027 Action Plan, visit Statewide Action Plan for Preventing and Ending Homelessness - California Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Alexander was living in a rough environment and only thought about survival. Now as a resident of Neighborhood Village in Goshen, Alexander is feeling positive and hopeful for the future. 

Neighborhood Village was supported by HCD’s Multifamily Housing, Permanent Local Housing Allocation and Regional Early Action Planning Grant 2.0 programs.

HCD recently joined Mercy Housing and city leaders in celebrating the grand opening of a new affordable housing project in Long Beach. Heritage Gardens, a development for adults aged 55-plus, offers 67 homes for low-income seniors and senior veterans. 

HCD contributed more than $13.2 million in Multifamily Housing Program funding to this project, which is central to public transit, grocery stores, and parks. Among the 67 homes, 33 are for extremely low-income seniors and senior veterans—those earning less than 30 percent of Area Median Income (AMI)—who have experienced or at risk of homelessness; these units are also supported by federal Housing Choice or Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers. The remaining units are for low-income seniors and senior veterans earning 30-80 percent AMI.

Starting as city-owned vacant land, the adjoining parcel with auto shop was purchased to increase the plot size, allowing developers to include around 3,500 square feet of community space in the plans. Also integrated into the design is public art reflecting the history of the neighborhood.

Heritage Gardens residents can enjoy the indoor lounge, the landscaped courtyard, and access to comprehensive supportive services. For resident convenience, there are also laundry facilities on every floor.