County approves update to Community Plan to End Homelessness and directs marketing support

Santa Clara County officials on Tuesday received an annual update on the Community Plan to End Homelessness and approved staff recommendations to continue a year-long plan update while directing the county executive to secure outside marketing expertise to better communicate results and next steps.

The Office of Supportive Housing (OSH) told the Board that the county’s collective, systemwide approach has housed more than 18,000 people since 2020 and expanded shelter capacity, while persistent inflow into homelessness continues to outpace gains. KJ Kaminski, acting director of the Office of Supportive Housing, and Deputy County Executive Consuelo Hernandez outlined a timeline to convene a steering committee, hold city and community engagement this fall, publish a draft plan in winter, and return with a final updated plan in spring or summer 2026.

The board emphasized the need to pair program accomplishments with clearer public messaging. Supervisor Abby Koga moved to receive the report, adopt the process timeline and to direct the county executive to secure a marketing expert to help translate plan progress, impacts and next steps for city partners and the public; Vice President Arenas seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Kaminski told supervisors that the county continues to play multiple roles: funder, operator, continuum-of-care lead and data monitor. He said the shortage of affordable housing at the lowest income levels remains the primary driver of inflow into homelessness and that the system’s recent gains depend on short-term federal funding and local Measure A bond projects. The slide deck attached to the staff report showed current and projected system capacity: prevention programs serving about 2,500 households in 2025 with a modest projected change next year; permanent housing capacity just over 6,000 households, with work to add roughly 600 units next year; and about 4,400 temporary shelter beds with additional pipeline units coming online, including Homekey and motel conversions.

Supervisors pressed staff to make the plan update a vehicle for deeper city engagement, asking the Office of Supportive Housing to present city-level implementation plans and to convene a series of briefings with city elected officials. Several board members said they wanted a stronger public-facing narrative that explains what the county and its partners have built, what problems remain structural (wages, housing supply) and what the county cannot control.

Deputy County Executive Hernandez said staff will finalize a communications framework and return to supervisors for input. Members of the board agreed to a brief to the public and to partner cities explaining Measure A accomplishments — including that the county is on track to exceed the original unit targets — and describing the limits of local control over federal and state funding streams.

The board also asked staff for off-agenda follow-ups: a clearer flowchart of program access points and a detailed list of shovel-ready Measure A projects that could be prioritized if reallocated funding becomes available. Kaminski and Hernandez said staff will provide further briefings and a draft communications plan for supervisor feedback before any external contract for marketing is executed.

The county’s updated timeline calls for expanded community listening in July–August, a draft plan in winter 2025–26, and a final adoption process in spring/summer 2026 that includes endorsement by the Lived Experience Advisory Board and the Continuum of Care board before returning to the full Board of Supervisors.