SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s Homekey program is one of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s initiatives to get more people off the streets and into housing.
Homekey was launched during the pandemic. Officials with California’s Department of Housing and Community Development, or HCD, say 12,774 units were created with the first two rounds of funding.
One of the over 200 projects across the state that received Homekey funds to transform a hotel into permanent housing is Vista Nueva in Sacramento.
Janette Diaz and her teenage daughter have been living at Vista Nueva since November 2022.
“Having the space to take care of my kid in the right kind of way is helpful — I’m going back to school,” Diaz notes.
The 32-year-old is working toward getting her GED. Diaz, who’s a sex trafficking survivor, says having housing has allowed her to focus on healing from her past.
“As a parent, I want to make sure that I’m all the way together so I can parent correctly. Part of that was my mental health because when you have trauma like me, you want to make sure that you deal with those hard traumatic situations,” she adds.
Diaz was trafficked at 12 and was homeless prior to moving to Vista Nueva, which currently houses 71 families. By October, the apartment is expected to have all 116 units occupied.
“It’s a blessing. I feel we are planting the seed and the residents are just pouring in the water. Just watching them grow is amazing and heartwarming,” said Bruni Lepe, program manager at Jamboree Housing.
The Orange County-based nonprofit was awarded $81 million in Homekey grants to convert places like Vista Nueva in different parts of the state.
Lepe manages programs and courses at Vista Nueva for residents like Diaz to access support services and life skills education.
Diaz is currently enrolled in a course that’s teaching her how she can become a homeowner. She said she’s also learning how to budget and is grateful for the family she’s built at Vista Nueva.
“It’s really beautiful to create places like this because a lot of us, being homeless, don’t have family. Programs like this help people that don’t have family and now you put all of us together and you have a whole new family,” Diaz shares.
In November, Diaz and her daughter will celebrate one year of being housed. Diaz is currently working on filling out her application to receive a Section 8 voucher.
“I’ve been on the waiting list since my daughter was 1 and now my daughter is 13 and programs like this have made it to where I’m going to be able to get my voucher within a year,” Diaz said.
The deadline to apply for the third and final round of Homekey grants is July 28, 2023.
Of the $736 million that will be distributed, HCD officials say $435 million will be derived from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan and $301 million from the state’s general fund.
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