Prior to COVID there were 151,278 people homeless in California. In one of the wealthiest places in the world, this is fundamentally unacceptable. Those 151,278 people spend their days figuring out how to get their next meal and shower; they cannot possibly go find jobs and apartments while living on the streets. Unfortunately, this problem is about to get much, much worse. Millions of Californians have been unable to pay their rent due to job losses and reduced income caused by the covid pandemic. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation to extend the State-wide eviction moratorium until January 31st, 2021. The Eviction Time Bomb on February 1st will cause an unprecedented surge in homelessness in our state. The Aspen Institute estimates that between 4.1m and 5.4m Californians are at risk of homelessness due to COVID-related evictions. It is estimated that in Santa Clara County over 43,000 individuals are at high risk of becoming homeless in the next year. The UCLA Luskin Institute estimates that members of nearly 120,000 households (not individuals, but entire households) in Los Angeles County (including 184,000 children) are likely to become homeless at least for some time period over the next several months.
