Governor Gavin Newsom came to Contra Costa yesterday to announce an expansion of the State's funding to house our homeless residents.

Since the State launched Project Roomkey in April, Contra Costa County  has successfully relocated hundreds of individuals from shelters and encampments to motels and hotels. The program provides funding for these relocations. This includes residents of the Richmond Rescue Mission, and the County shelters in North Richmond and Concord. 

The County is leasing 574 hotel and motel rooms to provide safer housing for homeless individuals. Meals are provided. The rooms are at 96% capacity. 

I'm pleased and grateful that we haven't had a COVID-19 outbreak in any of our homeless housing sites. Moving people to individual rooms helps prevent the spread of the virus. 

Some unhoused people who aren't using our motel sites have tested positive for the virus, and are being closely monitored by Health Services. 

With new support from the State, the County is now looking at purchasing hotels and motels as long term affordable housing. We're currently exploring purchasing the Motel 6 in Pittsburg, and looking at other sites countywide.

Outside Motel 6 yesterday, Governor Newsom announced the new program called Project Homekey, which provides state funding for the renovation and rehabilitation of motels, hotels, apartment buildings and other structures for homeless housing. State funding is also available to help counties provide social services at these sites.

Another example of this is a County project in San Pablo using U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding to build about 70 units of permanent housing for the unhoused. 

Tackling homelessness will take innovation and fresh ideas. I'm proud of our County's approach, and look forward to expanding programs that get people off of the streets and out of shelters, with the hope of permanent homes and supportive services.