Alameda County outlines phased plan to use accrued Measure W funds for interim housing, acquisitions and prevention hubs

Alameda County staff presented a multi‑phase plan to the Health Committee on Dec. 9 proposing how accrued Measure W revenues could be used to scale interim housing, prevention and the administrative infrastructure needed to deploy large sums quickly.

Jonathan Russell, director of Alameda County Health’s Housing and Homelessness Services (H&H), told supervisors the county has accrued an estimated $558 million in Measure W receipts through June 2024 and that modeling shows a potential eight‑year opportunity to house thousands of people if funds are dedicated to homelessness response consistent with the Home Together plan.

Russell summarized the county point‑in‑time count and system volumes: an estimated 9,450 people were experiencing homelessness in 2024 (6,343 unsheltered; 3,107 sheltered) and the system served about 24,547 people over the year. The Home Together planning model calls for roughly 24,000 additional housing resources and estimated a five‑year price tag of about $2.5 billion to meet those needs.

For an initial Phase 1, staff recommended setting aside roughly $350 million of the accrued revenue to seed a capital acquisition fund for rapid conversions or purchases (hotels and other underused properties) to create quality interim housing, expand interim capacity by an estimated 750–1,000 units in the first two years and support about 850 permanent housing units over time. Staff also recommended launching a countywide prevention hub framework that could serve 10,000 households over the measure’s life and funding administrative scale‑up (13–15 positions near‑term; potentially 40+ over time) to manage contracting, data and program quality.

"Based on the accrued revenue and projected revenue, the opportunity over those eight years would be to permanently house 9,000 households and deliver thousands of interim and supportive housing slots," Russell said, adding the proposal includes targeted investments for encampment resolution and service‑enriched interim housing.

Supervisors asked whether the county already had enough housing stock to house people with vouchers. Russell and other managers said existing private‑market units and vacancy rates mean rental assistance and vouchers can help house many people quickly, but a combined strategy is needed: subsidies to quickly place people in the private market plus acquisitions and conversions for interim housing where long‑term supportive environments are required.

Staff noted legal and procurement steps are required to move quickly: the county needs administrative capacity for contracting, program QA, HMIS operation and fiscal management before releasing large capital sums. The committee unanimously agreed to advance guidance that would let staff build financing and critical infrastructure in advance of any Measure W releases and to prioritize interim shelter surge, prevention hubs and capital acquisition in Phase 1 implementation planning.

What’s next: Staff will return with more detailed modeling, procurement plans, and specific financing proposals to support acquisition, interim housing conversions and administrative scaling, and to coordinate leveraging state programs (e.g., Homekey/Homekey Plus) where local match is required.