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Murrieta outlines homelessness response, new $12.6 million regional grant and shelter capacity
Summary
City staff told the Parks and Recreation Commission that Murrieta is expanding outreach and shelter supports after awarding regional grants and local Measure T funding; staff reported the city paid for 16 emergency shelter beds, a preliminary point-in-time count of about 13 people, and a county Encampment Resolution Grant of roughly $12.6 million to help about 100 people into housing.
Murrieta’s Parks and Recreation Commission on March 6 heard a detailed update on local homeless services from management analyst Lindsay Sisti, who said the city is boosting outreach and shelter options while coordinating regionally to move people into housing.
Sisti told the commission that Murrieta contracts a full-time street outreach team with CityNet and pays for 16 dedicated emergency shelter beds through subrecipient Project Touch. She said Measure T provides funding for her position and a specialized community policing team that supports outreach operations.
The city’s outreach work, Sisti said, opened services to roughly 220 individuals in 2024. A point-in-time canvass in January — a volunteer-led, four-hour morning count mandated by HUD — produced a preliminary tally of about 13 people in Murrieta on a single day, she reported, down from about 33 in 2023.
Sisti described how the city manages encampments: outreach teams first offer services, staff issue 72-hour notices, and cleanups are coordinated with police when people do not accept services. She said the city has reimbursement agreements with county flood control for some cleanups and that those arrangements reduce the burden on Murrieta’s budget.
On regional partnerships and funding, Sisti said the county was awarded approximately $12,600,000 through an Encampment Resolution Grant for work along the Murrieta Creek Trail (covering Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, Murrieta and nearby jurisdictions). "It's going to assist 100 individuals with getting off the street into permanent housing," she said, and staff are scoring RFPs now with a recommendation to City Council expected in April.
Sisti also described other sources of support: COVID-era Emergency Solutions Grant funding of over $1 million expanded shelter and outreach, and a Homeless Housing Assistance Program award will provide move-in and rental assistance for a small number of families. She said Project Touch and regional partners can move people from emergency shelter into transitional housing beds across the region.
Commissioners asked for details about shelter operations and how referrals are made. Sisti said that of 240 individuals served through the city’s programs last year, about 50 were children. Referral sources, she said, were roughly 40% street-outreach, 13% police patrol, 39% self-referral and 8% other sources. She also said the local emergency shelter is a fourplex in a residential area and that stays are typically flexible but often around 21 days for people who do not engage with services.
Looking ahead, Sisti and staff said Tres Lagos (a regional housing development under construction) is expected to house dozens of the hardest-to-place individuals, with the first phase about 84 units and plans for supportive on-site services. City staff described strong interagency coordination on case conferencing and mobile medical supports.
The commission did not take formal action on the homeless services report; staff said they will pursue the recommended RFP award to a subrecipient and return that contract recommendation to City Council for approval.
