URGENT NEED. GROWING PROBLEM.
Each year, an estimated 15,000 people experience homelessness in our County, and on any given night, more than 4,800 people are homeless.
Some are people suffering from mental illness and other chronic disabilities who have become an ongoing presence in our city centers, parks and open spaces. Others are not so visible, but still in need of assistance — disadvantaged youth discharged from the foster care system with nowhere to go; single mothers with children, recently divorced or fleeing a situation of domestic violence; and low income single adults and families without savings to help them weather an unexpected job loss, illness, or eviction.
In addition, an estimated 17,000 households in Contra Costa County have extremely low incomes and are at-risk of homelessness, paying an excessive portion of their income for rent. An unexpected job loss, illness or eviction can put them in the streets since their high rents preclude them from accumulating a savings cushion to protect themselves.*
*Source: "Ending Homelessness in Ten Years: A County-Wide Plan for the Communities of Contra Costa County"
