Santa Clara County has helped thousands of families secure permanent housing over the past several years. Yet homelessness continues to rise, and the end of a federal program that houses many families threatens the county’s progress.
In 2021, the county launched the “Heading Home” campaign to reach “functional zero” of homeless families by 2025, or the point in which more families are housed than are falling into homelessness. Over the past four years, 2,543 families have obtained permanent housing, representing 8,601 individuals. Despite the county doubling shelter capacity for families from 682 beds in 2021 to 1,306 this year, the number of homeless families has also nearly doubled since 2022 — from nearly 900 people to about 1,680.
Emergency Housing Vouchers, a pandemic-era program that allows people to cap rent at 30% of their income, is expiring at the end of 2026. The county used a majority of its 950 vouchers for families.
“As we face these federal reductions, our county remains committed to protecting the progress we have made and standing firmly behind the programs that keep families stable, supported and housed,” District 4 Supervisor Susan Ellenberg told San Jose Spotlight. “Santa Clara County’s progress in preventing family homelessness is the result of an unwavering commitment to collaboration, compassion and a shared belief that every child and every caregiver deserves the stability of a safe home.”
The county has more than 10,700 homeless people, a record high. Families represent 16% of the homeless population, and a majority of families — 84% — live in a shelter or transitional housing.
Since 2021, Santa Clara County has placed about 2,000 people in permanent housing through emergency housing vouchers and rapid rehousing programs, which provide households with time-limited rental subsidies with the expectation they’ll gradually be able to pay for rent after the subsidies end.
Five hundred county families in the emergency housing voucher program are at risk of losing their homes next year. The county will work with these families to navigate a transition plan, according to a memo.
In addition, more than 1,000 households are at risk of losing their homes due the federal government’s plans to shift funding for rapid rehousing and permanent housing programs to transitional housing. After Santa Clara County and a coalition of 10 other local governments and nonprofits filed a lawsuit last week, President Donald Trump’s administration announced Monday it will make “appropriate revisions” to its funding guidelines, after the county alleged Trump’s actions were illegal.
After being homeless for nearly two years, Kaytanna Alvarido, Alberto Barragan and their 1-year-old child obtained rapid rehousing and moved into The Charles last month, a new 100% affordable housing development. They are paying $218 every month for the next two years while Santa Clara County covers the remaining $1,009 until they can get back on their feet.
The family could no longer afford rent after Barragan lost his job in 2023. They lived out of cheap motel rooms and occasionally their car, wondering each day how they could find a few more dollars to pay for another night at the motel.
Thirty percent of homeless families report job loss as the primary reason for becoming homeless, according to surveys conducted during the 2025 point in time count. Domestic violence is the second highest reason for homelessness, according to 13% of families.
Barragan said his family’s life has completely changed with their own apartment. Had rental subsidies not been available, they would still be living in a shelter or homeless, he said.
“I think (the federal cuts are) horrible. This is the only way we had an opportunity to fix all the issues that had come about,” Barragan told San Jose Spotlight. “There’s so few options to get back on your feet, even if you are working and trying as hard as you can. So with opportunities like this, it really will change everything.”
In 2024, 50% of people who moved into permanent housing from shelters needed some kind of rental subsidy, according to county data.
Santa Clara County has also been building more affordable apartments for families, opening 534 new spaces that can accommodate families since 2021. Another 485 are under construction, and 929 are in the pipeline.
Officials said preventing people from falling into homelessness will be a key strategy moving forward. Over the past four years, more than 4,000 families on the verge of eviction were provided with financial or legal assistance to keep them stably housed.
“This work represents not just numbers, but lives transformed and families who now have the chance to build a future rooted in stability rather than crisis,” Ellenberg said. “We must be unequivocal: Stable, permanent housing is not a backup plan for homelessness prevention — it is the pinnacle of it. It is the single most effective, proven tool we have to keep families safely housed and to stop homelessness before it starts.”
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by San Jose Spotlight.