County of Santa Cruz has launched a public-facing dashboard allowing the community to explore one of the major issues facing the community: housing costs and how they impact homelessness.
Since 1980, the County has added 80,000 people but only 26,000 housing units, leading to increases in housing costs that exacerbate the numbers of people experiencing homelessness throughout the county. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition 2023 “Out of Reach” Report, Santa Cruz County is now the most expensive housing market for renters in the United States.
“Affordable housing and homelessness are pressing issues throughout California and especially in Santa Cruz County,” County Administrator Carlos Palacios said. “The County has made significant investments to address these issues, and we want to be transparent with the community about the work we are doing and will continue to do as we work together to build a community that works for everyone.”
The dashboard includes data on homeless persons, including information on those enrolled in County-services such as emergency shelter, rapid rehousing, permanents supportive housing and transitional housing. It also provides linkages to information about County programs such as the Rehousing Wave and mental health services, as well as the Housing for Health Partnership, a coalition of local governments and nonprofit providers focused on reducing homelessness throughout the community.
Through an interactive map, the dashboard also provides information about more than 1,200 County-funded affordable rental units provided throughout the county, as well as another 200 either in construction or under development. For each development, information on the types of units available and contact information for property management is available.
The dashboard does not include hundreds of additional affordable ownership units provided through the County’s Measure J program.
The affordable housing and homelessness dashboard is available through several Santa Cruz County websites, including santacruzcountyca.gov, housingforhealthpartnership.org, sccvision.us or at sccoplanning.org.
