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County highlights eviction surge and expands SHARP, rapid-rehousing and prevention funding
Summary
DHHS presented rising eviction writs and executed evictions and urged investment in prevention. The committee endorsed the executive's FY26 proposals to expand SHARP short-term rental assistance, eviction prevention and rapid rehousing and to replace ARPA with general funds for permanent supportive housing for 39 households.
Chief Christine Hong told the Health & Human Services committee that eviction writs and executed evictions have been increasing since FY22 and that executed evictions have risen substantially year-over-year. "You can see that the number of writs is increasing... we've seen at the Enclave we were able to prevent nearly all the evictions of the refugees that were identified there," she said, stressing both the demand and operational limits of sheriff execution capacity.
DHHS presented inflow/outflow charts for family households and said the county is aiming to reach functional zero for families by outpacing inflow with permanent placements. Since the special appropriation in January the county reported housing 84 families via SHARP (an average of 8 families per week, 32 per month). Chief Hong said SHARP's return rate for families is low (reported as 3%), while for individuals it is higher (22%). "As of the 25th, we've housed 84 families," she said.
Council staff outlined the FY26 recommended increases for Services to End and Prevent Homelessness: roughly $12.4M (25.3% increase) including $6.9M for SHARP, $2.95M for eviction prevention and rental assistance, $2.0M for rapid rehousing (to offset rising rents), and $1.2M to replace ARPA funds for permanent supportive housing serving 39 households. The committee discussed motel use and oversight of contracted hotel providers; staff said five hotels are under contract for family overflow and agreed to develop a dashboard for tracking constituent complaints and closeouts.
Council members pressed for earlier intervention before eviction filings, more consistent prevention coverage across zip codes, and outcomes data for SHARP and other programs. The committee generally concurred with the executive's FY26 recommendations for these homelessness interventions and asked DHHS for regular updates on metrics including length-of-stay in motels, retention after SHARP assistance, and referral volumes.
