Resources

Having a place to call home is the most basic foundation for health and well-being no matter one’s age, gender, race, or zip code.

Having a safe, stable place to live is crucial for student development and educational success. But more than 220,000 of California’s public K-12 students experienced homelessness in 2020-21. This includes children temporarily staying with other families due to economic hardship, and children living in motels, shelters, vehicles, public spaces, or substandard housing. Latinx, Black, American … Continued

Safe and stable housing is a fundamental need for every child and adult. Yet state legal protections that have kept California renters with low incomes housed throughout the pandemic expire at the end of March 2022. Applications for emergency rental assistance will close at the same time. Half of California renters with low incomes report … Continued

Almost 17 million Californians — 44% of all state residents — live in homes that are rented. As the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have unfolded, the urgent needs of California’s renters have rightly received significant attention, including calls for eviction moratoriums, rental assistance, and production of more affordable housing. Many of the millions of workers who have lost jobs fear missing rent payments and losing a safe home for their families at a time when having a safe and stable home is especially vital for both personal health and public health. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic and recession, when the state’s economy was booming, millions of California renters struggled to afford the high cost of their housing. In the coming months, California’s local, state, and federal policymakers will have choices and decisions to make about how to address the needs of renters through proposed changes in laws and new policy proposals.

Californians faced a housing affordability crisis even before COVID-19.