Governor Newsom provides communities $52 million to build housing and infrastructure, address homelessness
90 projects will help 160,000+ Californians in 53 counties
What you need to know: California awarded $52.6 million in federal Community Development Block Grants and Emergency Solutions Grants in 2025, improving streets, infrastructure, and public facilities and funding local solutions to homelessness for communities in every corner of the state.
SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom today announced more than $52 million in grant funding to revitalize communities and address homelessness – benefiting 53 counties statewide through 90 new projects, through federal Community Development Block Grants and 2024 Emergency Solutions Grants.
We’re delivering for our communities — full stop. Whether it’s housing, infrastructure, or homelessness services, we’re stepping up and standing shoulder to shoulder with local leaders to make sure they have what they need. These grants are about strengthening neighborhoods and ensuring communities across California can thrive, while preserving the pride people have in the places they call home.
Governor Gavin Newsom
The funding through the 2024 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) awards will fund 38 projects in 20 counties and provide more than 160,000 Californians with improved sewer and street infrastructure, public facilities, and recreational opportunities.
Governor Newsom announced that an additional $14.3 million in federal funds went to 52 projects across California serving 25 counties through 2024 Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG), giving local governments and service providers yet another tool to support regional solutions to homelessness. Both federal programs are administered in California by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
“For more than fifty years, Community Development Block Grants have been a key tool for creating housing and economic opportunity in American communities,” said Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Tomiquia Moss. “From food banks to fire protection equipment, HCD is making these awards to help meet the critical needs of Californians and expand access to opportunity.”
CDBG awards included 18 grants totaling $4.6 million for public service activities such as advocacy for children in the court systems, operation of shelters for survivors of domestic violence, housing and shelter navigation for people experiencing homelessness, support for veterans experiencing behavioral health challenges, and nutrition and food access for seniors, as well as support for food banks, transportation, and utility assistance for low- to moderate-income Californians.
“The CDBG grants awarded this year will foster improved quality of life for low-income Californians in rural communities in every corner of the state,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. “From the North Coast, to the colonias, our stewardship of federal funding will transform infrastructure and uplift some of our most vulnerable residents, building a stronger, more equitable California future.”
Examples from the CDBG awards include:
- An economic development grant for a business assistance loan program in Crescent City ($1.5 million)
- A homebuyer-assistance grant for a program in the City of Ukiah ($1.5 million)
- Six public facility improvement projects including parks and community centers ($18 million) in Capitola, Corning, Eureka, Firebaugh, and Oroville, as well as Imperial County.
- Three infrastructure projects including sewer and street improvements ($9.9 million) in Dinuba, King, and Marysville.
- Nine planning and technical assistance grants ($2.5 million)in Clearlake, Dinuba, Oroville, Shasta Lake, Weed, and Willows, as well as Imperial and Solano counties.
Imperial County submitted two applications — both fully funded — for facility improvement and planning projects in support of its colonias, described by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as “rural communities within the U.S.-Mexico border region that lack adequate water, sewer, or decent housing.” One grant will fund the installation of generators and improvement of HVAC systems at several community buildings so they may operate during extreme weather conditions and power outages. The second will update the county’s Colonias Master Plan to identify needed infrastructure and public facilities improvements within the county’s nine colonias communities.
HCD also made 52 ESG awards serving 36 counties totaling $14.3 million to California counties and service providers to fund local solutions to homelessness. With ESG funding, recipients can:
- Engage individuals and families experiencing homelessness
- Improve emergency shelters for individuals and families experiencing homelessness by supporting operations and essential services for shelter residents
- Rapidly rehouse individuals and families experiencing homelessness
- Prevent families and individuals from becoming homeless
Visit HCD online for more about the CDBG and ESG awards announced today
An approach that works
From the very first moments of the Newsom administration, the national crisis of housing and homelessness – which were decades in the making – has been addressed with ingenuity, seriousness, and expertise. No other state has devoted as much time and attention to these twin problems – and California is a leader in producing positive results. Governor Newsom is creating a structural and foundational model for the entire country:
✅ Addressing mental health and its impact on homelessness — Ending a long-standing 7,000 behavioral health bed shortfall in California by rapidly expanding community treatment centers and permanent supportive housing units. In 2024, voters approved Governor Newsom’s Proposition 1 which is transforming California’s mental health systems with a $6.4 billion Behavioral Health Bond for treatment settings and housing with services for veterans and people experiencing homelessness, and reforming the Behavioral Health Services Act to focus on people with the most serious illnesses, provide care to people with substance disorders, and support their housing needs.
✅ Creating new pathways for those who need the most help — Updating conservatorship laws for the first time in 50 years to include people who are unable to provide for their personal safety or necessary medical care, in addition to food, clothing, or shelter, due to either severe substance use disorder or serious mental health illness. Creating a new CARE court system that creates court-ordered plans for up to 24 months for people struggling with untreated mental illness, and often substance use challenges.
✅ Streamlining and prioritizing building of new housing — Governor Newsom made creating more housing a state priority for the first time in history. He has signed into law groundbreaking reforms to break down systemic barriers that have stood in the way of building the housing Californians need, including broad CEQA reforms.
✅ Creating shelter and support — Providing funding and programs for local governments, coupled with strong accountability measures to ensure that each local government is doing its share to build housing, and create shelter and support, so that people living in encampments have a safe place to go.
✅ Removing dangerous encampments — Governor Newsom has set a strong expectation for all local governments to address encampments in their communities and help connect people with support. In 2024, Governor Newsom filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court defending communities’ authority to clear encampments. After the Supreme Court affirmed local authority, Governor Newsom issued an executive order directing state entities and urging local governments to clear encampments and connect people with support, using a state-tested model that helps ensure encampments are addressed humanely and people are given adequate notice and support.
Reversing a decades-in-the-making crisis
The Newsom administration is making significant progress in reversing decades of inaction on homelessness. Between 2014 and 2019—before Governor Newsom took office—unsheltered homelessness in California rose by approximately 37,000 people. Since then, under this Administration, California has significantly slowed that growth, even as many other states have seen worsening trends.
In 2024, while homelessness increased nationally by over 18%, California limited its overall increase to just 3% — a lower rate than in 40 other states. The state also held the growth of unsheltered homelessness to just 0.45%, compared to a national increase of nearly 7%. States like Florida, Texas, New York, and Illinois saw larger increases both in percentage and absolute numbers. California also achieved the nation’s largest reduction in veteran homelessness and made meaningful progress in reducing youth homelessness.