Berkeley Awarded $16.2M State Grant To House City’s Homeless

BERKELEY, CA — The city of Berkeley was awarded $16.2 million in grant funding through a state program that aims to house the homeless, Mayor Jesse Arreguín said in a statement Wednesday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced $70 million in awards for the creation of 232 housing units across six projects in California. The funding comes through the state’s Homekey program.

The funds allocated to Berkeley will be used to acquire the Golden Bear Inn. It is the only such Bay Area project to receive funding from Thursday’s announcement.

The Inn is located in northwest Berkeley, an area that has experienced an increase in homelessness in recent years.

“This is serious funding to help communities like ours respond to California’s most serious problem; homelessness,” Arreguín said in a statement.

“The City is aggressively pursuing these funds in response to growing concerns over the impacts of homelessness, and this is the second grant we’ve received in just two months that will help us acquire more beds and improve quality of life for our community.”

The 44-unit hotel will be converted into 43 permanent supportive housing studios for people experiencing homelessness and manager’s unit.

On-site amenities will include space for counseling, a community room and a dining hall. Off-site amenities, located within a half mile of the project, include a grocery store, a healthcare facility, a library, a pharmacy and access to public transit.

Under the Homekey program, local entities partner with California’s Department of Housing and Community Development to create housing to serve people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness and who are inherently impacted by or at increased risk for medical diseases or conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other communicable diseases.

“We know that permanent supportive housing is the evidence-based solution to homelessness in our community”, said Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani, who represents Northwest Berkeley.

“This Homekey funding will enable us to create 44 permanent homes that I hope will transform the lives of residents. We stand ready to welcome our new neighbors to District 1.

Berkeley received a $4.7 million grant in March from the State of California’s Encampment Resolution Fund, enabling the city to secure 42 rooms at the Rodeway Inn to house those currently living in People’s Park.

According to the latest point-in-time count in 2019, there are 1,108 unhoused individuals living in Berkeley.

This is a 14 percent increase from 2017, whereas Alameda County saw a 43 percent increase during the same period.

Current estimates suggest the unhoused population could be higher in 2022 due to the economic impacts of COVID-19 which disproportionately impacted low-income communities. New data on homeless populations are expected this summer.