California Interagency Council on Homelessness

📊 New data alert!

The Homeless Data Integration System (HDIS) now includes data for all of 2025.

💻 https://zurl.co/yHkqn

From 2024 to 2025, the number of people experiencing homelessness services in California remained steady. From 2017 to 2024, there was a consistent increase in people accessing services.

🔬 For the first time in the history of HDIS data tracking (2017-2025), the year over year change in total count of persons served is less than a 5% increase. Numbers were almost flat, with 357,071 served in 2024 and 358,784 served in 2025. Previously, the smallest total increase was ~13k between 2019 (236,123) and 2020 (249,342).

👉 The new data also tracks the effectiveness of homelessness grants administered by California Department of Housing & Community Development

💻 https://zurl.co/xVUow

Since 2023, more than 2,000 projects funded by HHAP, ERF, and FHC have placed more than 115,000 Californians in permanent housing.

⏰Join us TODAY for the next Cal ICH Advisory Committee meeting!

📅 Wednesday, May 6, 2 p.m.

📄 On the agenda: Discussion of monthly observances to highlight
https://zurl.co/VnGms

💻 Zoom: https://zurl.co/ZatcD

As we close National Social Work Month, we want to take a moment to recognize not just the impact of social workers, but the weight of the work they carry every day.

Social workers show up in moments of crisis, uncertainty, and deep need. They build trust 🤝, navigate complex systems 🧭, and help connect people to housing, care, and stability 🏠.

They do this work in a world where the challenges are real, resources are stretched, and progress can be hard-won.
And still, they show up.

This month, we recognize that behind every system, every program, and every outcome, there are people doing deeply human work.
We are also reminded that sustaining this work requires caring for the people who do it.

In work that asks you to show up for others every day, taking care of yourself is not a luxury, it’s essential.

We are grateful to the social workers across California who continue to show up with compassion, professionalism, and a commitment to helping people move toward stability.

💬 Community Reflection:
What helps you sustain yourself in this work?

All month long, we’ve highlighted the essential role social workers play in helping people move from crisis to housing and stability.

Across California, social workers are on the front lines 🦺: building trust 🤝, navigating complex systems 🧭, and connecting people to housing and critical services 🏠.

They are the difference between systems that exist and systems that work.

This week, we are especially proud to recognize Cal ICH Councilmember Veronica Lewis, who is being honored by Housing California with the Housing Justice Award 🏆.

This recognition reflects her leadership and unwavering commitment to advancing housing stability and ensuring systems deliver real results for the people they serve.

Social workers across California are helping turn policy into progress and progress into stability.

💬 Join us in celebrating:
Tag a social worker or leader making a difference in your community.

Are you interested in partnering with the California Interagency Council on Homeless to uplift and address the needs of Tribal communities?

Please consider our applying to join our Tribal Advisory Board. Applications are due March 31.

Apply at https://zurl.co/hlO7n

🤝Social workers meet people where they are: on sidewalks, in encampments, in shelters, and in communities. Through outreach, social workers build trust, help people navigate complex systems, and connect individuals and families to housing, health care, and other critical supports.

This work requires patience, persistence, and partnership.

Helping someone move from unsheltered homelessness to housing is rarely a single moment. It is a process built on relationships, coordination across systems, and a belief that stability is possible.

At the same time, protecting public trust in this work is essential. The vast majority of social workers and service providers are deeply committed to helping people rebuild stability, and strong oversight ensures that public resources reach the people they are intended to serve.

Social workers help turn outreach into opportunity and connection into housing stability.

This Social Work Month, Cal ICH recognizes the professionals across California who are working every day to help people move from crisis toward housing and stability.

💬 Community Question:
What partnerships help outreach and housing navigation succeed in your community?

🏠 March is National Social Work Month

Social work emerged in the late 1800s through movements like the settlement house movement, where community leaders and reformers worked alongside families experiencing poverty to improve housing, health, education, and working conditions. Early pioneers such as Jane Addams helped establish the idea that social change and direct support must work together to strengthen communities.

Over time, social work evolved into a professional field dedicated to helping people navigate life’s most complex challenges. Today, social workers connect individuals and families to housing, health care, behavioral health services, benefits, and employment support.

Social workers often meet people at some of the most difficult moments in their lives. Yet their work is grounded in the belief that a person’s worst day does not define their future. Social workers see potential, resilience, and possibility even when circumstances are at their hardest. In homelessness response systems, social workers are often the bridge between crisis and stability. They conduct outreach, build trust, help people navigate complex systems, and support individuals as they move into housing and rebuild their lives.

This National Social Work Month, Cal ICH recognizes the social workers across California who help strengthen communities and remind us that change is always possible.

💬 Community Question:
What role have social workers played in supporting your community?

📣 Join us at 1 p.m. today for the Cal ICH quarterly Council Meeting!

📄 Agenda includes:
- Behavioral Health Reform Updates
- Veterans Support to Self-Reliance (VSSR) Pilot Update

🔗 Meeting materials and Zoom link:
https://zurl.co/424wb

🖤 This week, we honor the life and legacy of Reverend Jesse Jackson, a towering figure in the civil rights movement whose work advanced justice, dignity, and opportunity nationwide. The Rev. Jackson passed away on February 17, 2026, at age 84. His family described him as a servant leader who devoted his life to uplifting the oppressed and advancing equality.

Jackson’s life work extended beyond individual policy wins; he helped shape the moral arc of American civic life, advocating for equity in education, economic power, human rights, and community leadership. His legacy reminds us that justice is not seasonal, but the daily work of building systems that uphold dignity and opportunity for all.

At Cal ICH, we recognize that ending homelessness and advancing housing equity are part of that broader moral project — making sure every person has stability, safety, and a voice. 🏡📊

✨ What lessons from Reverend Jesse Jackson’s life and leadership resonate most with you as we work toward equity in housing and community stability? 💬

🖤📚 Black History Month is also a time to confront the realities that continue to shape housing outcomes for Black/African American Californians today.

Black Californians make up about 7 percent of the state’s population yet consistently represent a quarter to a third of people experiencing homelessness. This disparity is not the result of individual circumstances. It is the product of longstanding systemic barriers, including:

✨ Historic housing discrimination — from racially restrictive covenants to redlining that limited where Black families could live and build wealth.

✨ Unequal access to economic opportunity — wage gaps, employment discrimination, and limited access to generational wealth.

✨ Disparities across public systems — including child welfare, criminal justice, and healthcare, which have historically created higher pathways into housing instability.

✨ Underinvestment in Black neighborhoods and community infrastructure — shaping long-term economic mobility.

These factors compound across generations, showing up clearly in the data we see today. And while the causes are systemic, so too are the solutions.

At Cal ICH, we remain committed to strengthening prevention, expanding rehousing, improving local coordination, investing in youth and families, and grounding every aspect of our work in equity and accountability. 🏡🤝

🕊️ Honoring Black history means being honest about the barriers that persist — and working toward a future where housing stability is equitable and accessible for all.

❓ What steps do you believe are most important for California to take to reduce racial disparities in housing stability and homelessness? 💬✨