Tens of millions of dollars have been released by the state of California to address the homeless crisis in the Bay Area.
Santa Clara County is getting nearly $46 million, the most of any Bay Area county, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, which late last year released the emergency homeless aid as part of a $650 million package. San Francisco and Alameda County will receive roughly the same amount, $38 million.
Here’s how the counties rank by the amount they are receiving. The numbers are rounded. 1. Santa Clara County — $45.9 million2. San Francisco — $38 million3. Alameda County — $38 million4. Sonoma County — $6.7 million5. Contra Costa County — $5.2 million6. San Mateo County — $3.4 million7. Solano County — $2.6 million8. Marin County — $2.4 million9. Napa County — $0.85 millionNewsom recently ended a statewide tour in Oakland as part of his administration’s efforts to address the crisis. Oakland is getting $20 million in aid from the state. In all, the Bay Area is receiving 23 percent of the total state funding.
“We need to see it as an immediate crisis and a longer-term problem,” said Daniel Flaming, president of the Economic Roundtable, which has done at least one study on homelessness in the Bay Area.
Flaming said that, with help, a majority of homeless people are able to get back on their feet in less than a year, but some get stuck.
“That’s really the face of the homeless,” he said, so it’s important to help people soon after their crisis sets in.