California Turned Pandemic Rentals Into Permanent Housing For Homeless People
“Ray says homelessness and poverty are huge problems for their tribe. That’s why they applied for a $1.2 million grant from the state to purchase and renovate a 10-unit apartment complex in Lakeport, Calif. It’s part of a new program called Homekey, a statewide effort to quickly convert existing properties into temporary or permanent long-term housing.
Since launching in June 2020, Homekey has created nearly 6,000 new units statewide for people experiencing homelessness. They did it by cutting through a lot of red tape and using existing buildings, mostly hotels and motels, but also vacation rentals, a college dormitory, single-family houses, office buildings and apartment buildings.”