Built on the success of Project Roomkey, a state program that provided those experiencing homelessness safe space to quarantine after exposure to COVID-19, California’s Project Homekey buys motels and turns them into housing for its homeless population. It has resulted in 94 new housing projects across the state. Tribal governments run three of them.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) administers the program, making $600 million in grant funds available. The funding comes from the allocated federal Coronavirus Aid Relief Funds and the state’s general fund.
The Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians is one of the Tribal grant recipients. They’re headquartered in the rural town of Lakeport, about a two-hour drive north of San Francisco. The Tribe received a $1 million grant from the Homekey program.
You can learn more about Project Homekey from https://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-funding/active-funding/homekey.shtml
