California Secretary of Housing Meets with City
Leaders About Affordable Housing and Homelessness
California Secretary of Business, Consumer Services, and Housing (BCSH) Secretary Lourdes Castro Ramirez met with leaders from the City of San Bernardino on Friday, June 30 to discuss affordable housing and homelessness.
Castro Ramirez was joined by BCSH Deputy Secretary for Equity & Strategic Initiatives Erica Gonzalez and Carina Tamayo from the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom.
San Bernardino Mayor Helen Tran, Council Member Sandra Ibarra, and Deputy Director for Housing and Homelessness Cassandra Searcy presented an update of the projects and initiatives the City has enacted in the past eight months. This included planned and interim shelter beds, affordable housing, the homeless navigation center, the recently launched homeless outreach team and COAST (Community Outreach and Support) Team.
Secretary Castro Ramirez discussed current and upcoming funding opportunities at the State level, as well as the benefits of the City receiving a pro-housing designation from the State. She also discussed the importance to partner with the County of San Bernardino, who receive much of the funding allocated to the region with the expectation the funds will be distributed to the areas of highest need.
Approximately 36% of the homeless individuals in the County of San Bernardino reside within the City of San Bernardino. In February, the City declared a homeless state of emergency.