The passing of Measure H placed a 1/4 cent sales tax that generated an estimated $355 million countywide fund annually. Measure H prompted services related to mental health, substance abuse treatment, healthcare, and job training. More notably, the regional fund enabled cities to implement plans to address homelessness issues within their jurisdictions.

With funding from Los Angeles County, the City of Santa Clarita authored the "Community Plan to Address Homelessness". The plan features goals, action items, and participating stakeholders. Topic areas of focus include: preventing homelessness, increasing income, subsidizing housing, investigating permanent affordable housing options, and creating local coordination. The City urges local residents to view the plan and offer suggestions. 

The Community Plan to Address Homelessness can be found here.

37 community partners comprised of nonprofits, faith-based organizations, local service providers, and school districts convened to launch the City of Santa Clarita's Homeless Task Force. The Task Force meets quarterly to coordinate efforts related to addressing the goals listed in the Community Plan to Address Homelessness. The Task Force is divided into four subcommittees: Affordable Housing, Direct Services, Increasing Income, and Prevention and is administered by the City of Santa Clarita.

The City of Santa Clarita City Council awarded Bridge to Home a $150,000 grant designated for a capital project manager and programs to increase the capacity of local homeless services. Bridge to Home remains the premier homeless services organization in the City of Santa Clarita and offers a myriads of services from housing navigation, medical referrals, and employment assistance on top of an emergency shelter.

For more information about Bridge to Home, please visit its website here.

The Homeless Task Force completed strategic planning sessions to evaluate and update priorities for 2020. Among the priorities for the year include identifying families experiencing housing insecurity through schools, improving mental health and drug prevention services, establishing subsidized employment programs, enhancing the capacity for rapid re-housing, and increasing affordable housing stock via landlord engagement.

To learn more about the Task Force's achievements in 2020, please visit following Prezi Presentation. 

The City of Santa Clarita City Council approved Bridge to Home's request to temporarily utilize the Newhall Community Center as a shelter to adhere to COVID-19 health protocols. The temporary shelter will enable Bridge to Home to continue serving its 60-client limit while maintaining social distancing. 

The agreement concludes and plans are underway for a new shelter location. 

The July 30,2020 Homeless Point-in-Time (PIT) confirmed a 34% homeless population decrease from 258 to 168 individuals within the past year. Bridge to Home, however, identified more than 1,000 unduplicated clients in 2019. The 2021 Los Angeles County Point-in-Time count was voted to not be administered due to rising COVID-19 cases. The forgoing of the count will not affect funding. 

Bridge to Home notified the City of Santa Clarita City Council about their plans to launch their Project 30. Project 30 is a plan for Bridge to Home to provide funding for monthly rentals to their clients as a part of Los Angeles County's Re-Housing Initiative. Project 30 will provide funding for monthly rentals for 30 of the most vulnerable clients during the COVID-19 pandemic for up to 24 months. 

The City of Santa Clarita City Council authorized the donation of a 32,000 square foot plot of land off of Newhall Avenue to Family Promise of SCV. The estimated value of the land was appraised at $1,600,000. The City of Santa Clarita partnered with Williams Homes to construct a fourplex for transitional housing as well as an administrative building for Family Promise of SCV to carry out their operations. The property donation demonstrates the City's commitment to providing affordable housing stock as outlined under the Community Plan to Address Homelessness. 

The Santa Clarita Homeless Task Force developed a comprehensive website of all-things homelessness in the city including a registry of local service providers, news, and volunteer opportunities. It is the first of its kind and seeks to engage residents with homeless action by providing readily available information and most importantly, streamlining service navigation for individuals experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness. 

To fulfill City of Santa Clarita's commitment to equity and community-based solutions, the City  administered a Request for Proposal (RFP) to allocate the $126,493 Innovation Fund provided by the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative. Local nonprofit organizations were encouraged to submit grant applications to fund "creative" and "sustainable" programs and services that fulfills goals in the Community Plan to Address Homelessness.

The City of Santa Clarita City Council approves the funding of six community proposals via a Measure H Homeless Innovation Grant. The approval is the culmination of a grant opportunity a dozen local nonprofit organizations applied for. The following organizations will receive a portion of the overall $126,493 grant: College of the Canyons Foundation, Single Mothers Outreach, Bridge to Home, Santa Clarita Grocery, William S. Hart Education Foundation, and the Salvation Army of Santa Clarita. To read in detail of each organization's proposed program, please visit the following article.