Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that the state was transforming six new underutilized sites into at least 843 homes, offering stability and community to Californians who need it most. This comes as earlier this year, Governor Newsom launched a first-of-its-kind approach to redeveloping state excess properties into affordable housing – fast-tracking a process to deliver on the Governor’s 2019 executive order. As a result, the state is building affordable housing faster — an achievement worth giving thanks for this season.

“This holiday season, we’re working to make sure California families don’t just have a place at the table but that they have a place to call home," said Governor Gavin Newsom. "When we invest in affordable housing, we’re giving communities the ingredients they need to thrive and helping families put down roots. Everyone deserves a place to call home, and we remain committed to delivering on this promise.”

This announcement aligns with the Governor's 2019 executive order to help scale up California's response to a housing crisis that has been decades in the making. The order called on the Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD) and the Department of General Services (DGS) to identify and prioritize excess state-owned property for affordable housing development. Delivering on this order, DGS developed a process to fast track projects from application to approval in less than five months.

“The technology advancements that the state has made to provide affordable housing rapidly are impressive," said Secretary of Government Operations Agency, Nick Maduros. “This new process has generated excitement from a diverse group of developers, and I'm excited to see the fruition of these efforts to ensure housing for all."

"The Excess Sites program represents the best of an all-of-government approach to addressing homelessness through innovation and collaboration," said California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Tomiquia Moss. "By making the process even more efficient, we're delivering more affordable housing, faster. This is the direction California is moving – toward speed, scale, and solutions that strengthen families and communities."

Today, California is grateful for these six new affordable housing projects under Lease Option Agreements which will be built on state land:

• Department of State Hospitals (DSH) Atascadero - 87 affordable units and one market-rate unit
• DSH Napa – 183 affordable units and two market-rate units
• Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Fontana - 127 affordable large-family units and one market-rate unit
• DGS San Bernardino - 203 affordable units and two market-rate units
• DMV Stockton - 108 affordable units and two market-rate units
• DGS Stockton - 132 affordable units and two market-rate units

"This streamlined process reflects our commitment to making state-owned land readily accessible for affordable housing development," said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. "By allowing for continuous proposal submissions, we are creating more opportunities for innovation and speed in addressing California's decades-old crisis of housing affordability and homelessness."

"The Excess Sites Program is a vital first step in delivering affordable housing statewide, and I'm proud of our department's effort in seizing an opportunity to build efficiencies to renew the program and improve the process," said DGS Director Ana M. Lasso. "As public servants, we are here to help make a difference, ensure that all of our community members have a place to call home, and that this initiative continues to transform lives, builds stability, and yield growth for all Californians."

A Season of Gratitude

Since the executive order, DGS and HCD have assembled a statewide pipeline of nearly 4,300 housing units across 32 projects in various phases of development.

Recent completions—like Sacramento's Sonrisa, Fresno County's Guardian Village, and South Lake Tahoe's Sugar Pine Village—show how the program is already transforming lives.

• Sacramento, with Sonrisa, a 58-unit community that combines housing with commercial space, will house a job training center in partnership with the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency (SETA).
• Fresno County, with the Guardian Village development, a 48-unit project built on the former Reedley Armory at 601 East 11th Street in Fresno County.
• South Lake Tahoe, with Sugar Pine Village, will be the first of its kind as the largest affordable housing project in the history of South Lake Tahoe. The community opened 68 units to residents in late 2024, which will eventually grow into a 248-unit community.

An approach that works

From the very first moments of the Newsom administration, the national crisis of housing and homelessness – which were decades in the making – has been addressed with ingenuity, seriousness, and expertise. No other state has devoted as much time and attention to these twin problems – and California is a leader in producing positive results. Governor Newsom is creating a structural and foundational model for America:

✅ Addressing mental health and its impact on homelessness — Ending a long-standing 7,000 behavioral health bed shortfall in California by rapidly expanding community treatment centers and permanent supportive housing units. In 2024, voters approved Governor Newsom’s Proposition 1 which is transforming California’s mental health systems with a $6.4 billion Behavioral Health Bond for treatment settings and housing with services for veterans and people experiencing homelessness, and reforming the Behavioral Health Services Act to focus on people with the most serious illnesses, provide care to people with substance disorders, and support their housing needs.

✅ Creating new pathways for those who need the most help — Updating conservatorship laws for the first time in 50 years to include people who are unable to provide for their personal safety or necessary medical care, in addition to food, clothing, or shelter, due to either severe substance use disorder or serious mental health illness. Creating a new CARE court system that creates court-ordered plans for up to 24 months for people struggling with untreated mental illness, and often substance use challenges.

✅ Streamlining and prioritizing building of new housing — Governor Newsom made creating more housing a state priority for the first time in history. He has signed into law groundbreaking reforms to break down systemic barriers that have stood in the way of building the housing Californians need, including broad CEQA reforms.

✅ Creating shelter and support — Providing funding and programs for local governments, coupled with strong accountability measures to ensure that each local government is doing its share to build housing, and create shelter and support, so that people living in encampments have a safe place to go.

✅ Removing dangerous encampments — Governor Newsom has set a strong expectation for all local governments to address encampments in their communities and help connect people with support. In 2024, Governor Newsom filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court defending communities’ authority to clear encampments. After the Supreme Court affirmed local authority, Governor Newsom issued an executive order directing state entities and urging local governments to clear encampments and connect people with support, using a state-tested model that helps ensure encampments are addressed humanely and people are given adequate notice and support.

Reversing a decades-in-the-making crisis

The Newsom administration is making significant progress in reversing decades of inaction on homelessness. Between 2014 and 2019—before Governor Newsom took office—unsheltered homelessness in California rose by approximately 37,000 people. Since then, under this Administration, California has significantly slowed that growth, even as many other states have seen worsening trends.

In 2024, while homelessness increased nationally by over 18%, California limited its overall increase to just 3% — a lower rate than in 40 other states. The state also held the growth of unsheltered homelessness to just 0.45%, compared to a national increase of nearly 7%. States like Florida, Texas, New York, and Illinois saw larger increases both in percentage and absolute numbers. California also achieved the nation’s largest reduction in veteran homelessness and made meaningful progress in reducing youth homelessness.

Veterans and others exiting homelessness have a new place to call home in the San Fernando Valley. My Angel, located in the North Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, is a new permanent supportive housing community for veterans and individuals experiencing homelessness. 

My Angel provides 53 affordable homes and on-site supportive services for residents including case management, educational resources, and connections to healthcare. My Angel sits on land formerly owned by the Kassner family, who donated the property to LA Family Housing for conversion into supportive housing for veterans. A former veteran himself, Hal Kassner wanted to invest in other veterans so they could have a thriving future. 

HCD partnered with LA Family Housing and the City of Los Angeles to provide $5 million from the National Housing Trust Fund program to support this development. Residents of My Angel have access to central laundry facilities, an exercise room, and a bike storage area. Outdoor amenities include a community garden, a gated dog park, and recreational spaces.

Governor Gavin Newsom today announced $56 million in grant awards to 54 counties to help ensure that vulnerable young adults leaving foster care can maintain access to safe and secure housing – continuing California’s progress in reducing homelessness and providing strong support for local communities. This builds on California’s efforts to help local communities reduce the number of young adults experiencing homelessness, which has dropped by almost 25% statewide since 2020.

“Young adults deserve to feel supported and guided, especially during their transition into adulthood. This funding will continue to bridge accessible housing resources in our communities and will ensure that our youth don’t have to decide between their education, paying rent, or putting food on the table – we will not leave our youth behind,” Governor Gavin Newsom.

As the Trump administration pulls housing and services out from under American families, California is standing up for Californians by filing a suit challenging the HUD’s cuts to vital funding. Today, the state also announced its continued work to fill the gap and provide crucial resources for at-risk youth exiting the foster care and probation systems to prevent them from experiencing homelessness. The funds managed by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) will provide direct aid to counties and provide local resources and services for youth transitioning out of foster care or probation systems in California.

“These state grants help give vulnerable young adults — many without family support systems — access to stability and opportunity that can change the trajectory of their lives,” said Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Tomiquia Moss. “In partnership with counties, we are ensuring youth leaving foster care or the probation system have the resources to achieve and retain stable housing.”

Keeping vulnerable youth off the streets

Since 2020, California has funded three Transitional Age Youth (TAY) programs through HCD to help counties provide housing and supportive services to keep vulnerable youth off the streets and on a path to success. 

In 2024, through programs such as this and other state strategies, California’s young adults (ages 18-24) experiencing homelessness went down for those experiencing homelessness who received services were less likely than the overall population to return to homelessness, indicating more young people who exit the foster care and probation systems are maintaining housing stability. Since 2020, California’s young adult homeless population dropped by nearly 25%, from 11,403 to 8,569 in 2024.

“Through HCD’s Transitional Age Youth programs, the Newsom Administration provides counties yet another resource to support local solutions to homelessness,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. “With the critical services TAY funds, Californians who have already faced many challenges in their young lives can find stability that puts them on a path to a brighter future.” 

The $56 million in HCD’s TAY awards announced today were allocated to counties based on need as demonstrated by each county’s percentage of the statewide total of young adults who are currently or formerly in the foster care or probation systems. The awards include: 

• Transitional Housing Program (THP), which helps county child welfare agencies identify and assist with housing resources and improve service coordination.
• Housing Navigation and Maintenance Program (HNMP), which provides counties funding to train child welfare agency social workers and probation officers working with non-minor dependents as housing navigators with a broad understanding of available housing resources.
• Transitional Housing Plus Housing Supplement Program (THP-SUP), which allocates grants to help young adults who have exited foster care on or after their 18th birthday in counties with the state’s highest market-rate apartment rental costs. 

Since the program’s inception under Governor Gavin Newsom, HCD’s TAY programs have provided services and stable housing to 15,972 young adults. The youth served indicated they were experiencing homelessness at program entry, or currently in foster care or the state’s probation system, or that they identify as LGBTQIA+. Youth benefiting from these funds have received housing support, wrap-around case management, financial literacy assistance, education and employment program support, and financial assistance.   

An approach that works 

From the very first moments of the Newsom administration, the national crisis of housing and homelessness – which were decades in the making – has been addressed with ingenuity, seriousness, and expertise. No other state has devoted as much time and attention to these twin problems – and California is a leader in producing positive results. Governor Newsom is creating a structural and foundational model for America:  

✅ Addressing mental health and its impact on homelessness — Ending a long-standing 7,000 behavioral health bed shortfall in California by rapidly expanding community treatment centers and permanent supportive housing units. In 2024, voters approved Governor Newsom’s Proposition 1 which is transforming California’s mental health systems with a $6.4 billion Behavioral Health Bond for treatment settings and housing with services for veterans and people experiencing homelessness, and reforming the Behavioral Health Services Act to focus on people with the most serious illnesses, provide care to people with substance disorders, and support their housing needs.

✅ Creating new pathways for those who need the most help — Updating conservatorship laws for the first time in 50 years to include people who are unable to provide for their personal safety or necessary medical care, in addition to food, clothing, or shelter, due to either severe substance use disorder or serious mental health illness. Creating a new CARE court system that creates court-ordered plans for up to 24 months for people struggling with untreated mental illness, and often substance use challenges.

✅ Streamlining and prioritizing building of new housing — Governor Newsom made creating more housing a top state priority for the first time in history. He has signed into law groundbreaking reforms to break down systemic barriers that have stood in the way of building the housing Californians need, including broad CEQA reforms.

✅ Creating shelter and support — Providing funding and programs for local governments, coupled with strong accountability measures to ensure that each local government is doing its share to build housing, and create shelter and support, so that people rescued from encampments have a safe place to go.

✅ Removing dangerous encampments — Governor Newsom has set a strong expectation for all local governments to address encampments in their communities and help connect people with support. In 2024, Governor Newsom filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court defending communities' authority to clear encampments. After the Supreme Court affirmed local authority, Governor Newsom issued an executive order directing state entities and urging local governments to clear encampments and connect people with support, using a state-tested model to address encampments humanely and provide people with adequate notice and support.

Reversing a decades-in-the-making crisis 

The Newsom administration is making significant progress in reversing decades of inaction on homelessness. Between 2014 and 2019—before Governor Newsom took office—unsheltered homelessness in California rose by approximately 37,000 people. Since then, under this Administration, California has significantly slowed that growth, even as many other states have seen worsening trends. 

In 2024, while homelessness increased nationally by over 18%, California limited its overall increase to just 3% — a lower rate than in 40 other states. The state also held the growth of unsheltered homelessness to just 0.45%, compared to a national increase of nearly 7%. States like Florida, Texas, New York, and Illinois saw larger increases both in percentage and absolute numbers. California also achieved the nation’s largest reduction in veteran homelessness and made meaningful progress in reducing youth homelessness.