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State housing programs credited with housing older adults; funding cliffs risk reversals
Summary
HomeSafe and HDAP have helped many older adults and people with disabilities secure permanent housing, but county program closures and the end of one‑time funding put services at risk, officials and counties said.
Department of Social Services and county officials described results from HomeSafe, the Housing and Disability Advocacy Program (HDAP) and the Community Care Expansion (CCE) preservation and capital programs, and warned that exhaustion of one‑time funds will force many local programs to scale down or close.
CDSS said HomeSafe (launched 2018) served about 15,600 people through June 2024 and achieved a 62 percent exit‑to‑permanent‑housing rate in 2023–24, compared with 35 percent for the broader homelessness response system. HDAP has served roughly 30,300 people since 2017 and reported a 43 percent share of participants experiencing chronic homelessness at intake; its 2023–24 exit‑to‑permanent‑housing rate was 50 percent. CCE has awarded $570 million for capital expansion (estimated to produce more than 3,100 beds/units) and $247 million for preservation, with contracts executed to preserve more than 2,251 beds as of March 2025.
County caseworkers described HomeSafe’s flexible, time‑limited supports — emergency motel shelter, rental arrears, help obtaining identification and benefits — as instrumental in preventing or ending homelessness among older adults. Grace Belluccio, Riverside County regional manager for Adult Protective Services, gave examples of clients stabilized through temporary shelter and assistance getting housing choice vouchers and said the county has already expended most HomeSafe funds.
CDSS and counties warned that HomeSafe and HDAP one‑time funds are being exhausted: eight HomeSafe programs have already closed and CDSS estimates 26 additional programs at risk of closure by July 2025 unless more funding is provided. HDAP has additional ongoing $25 million, but CDSS expects some programs to scale down operations as one‑time funding phases out; counties reported rising demand amid aging demographics.
Witnesses said the programs follow Housing First principles and have produced higher housing retention rates among older adults than the broader system. Advocates urged continued state investment to preserve gains and noted that without continued funding, older adults with medical and functional needs would face institutionalization or unsheltered homelessness.
