Despite ongoing efforts and praise for the initiatives individual cities are undertaking, the Yolo County Grand Jury is urging a unified approach to addressing homeless housing.
The investigation in the 2024-2025 Grand Jury report recounts a “concerning upward trend” based on the latest Point in Time count that showed a “surge of 26.3% in the homeless population between 2022 and 2024, underscoring the escalating nature of this critical social issue.”
The Grand Jury report, released in June, comes at a time when homelessness nationwide is drawing significant attention.
In Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump is forcing people living unhoused to go anywhere else or face arrest.
In California, which is recognized as the state with the highest number of unhoused people, the city of Gilroy is considered to have the largest number of homeless individuals with 1,048 people living on the streets among its 60,860 population, or 17.2 people for every 1,000.
That’s more than the city of San Francisco, which, with 8,323 unhoused people among its population of 845,355, is 8.8 people for every 1,000.
In Yolo County, the January 2024 Point in Time study found there were 942 homeless countywide, with 162 from Davis, 289 from West Sacramento, 75 from Winters, and 416 from Woodland. The 2025 PIT count has not been released.
First conducted in 2005, the PIT Count is an unduplicated count of individuals experiencing homelessness on a single night within the last 10 days of January.
Countywide, homelessness has risen from 21.4 people for every 1,000 in 2017 to 42.5 people by 2024.
The Grand Jury summary reports that the Homelessness and Poverty Action Commission, set up to “streamline and harmonize the diverse homelessness programs operating within the county’s major urban centers, has demonstrably fallen short of its intended purpose.
“Its lack of effective coordination has hindered the county’s overarching goal of a unified and impactful approach,” the report states. “Compounding the challenge is the absence of dedicated Yolo County funding specifically allocated to facilitate the crucial collaborative function.”
The report lists 12 findings and five recommendations for addressing homelessness.
The findings range from noting the lack of an overall plan, lack of leadership and unified direction as well as coordination, the underutilization of empty parking lots during the night for those living in their vehicles, a shortage of “adequately trained and supported employees,” the lack of affordable housing countywide and the “growing allocation” of money being used to combat the problem.
As a result, among the recommendations is that Yolo County “needs to budget dedicated funds for homeless services to significantly improve coordination, communication and the collaborative development of initiatives between existing programs.”
The report also recommends establishing a dedicated and mobile “Mental Health Outreach Team specifically trained to engage with and provide services to homeless individuals,” that the county should research and assist existing homelessness service providers in identifying appropriate and accessible locations for their services such as “safe parking sites.”
Finally, the report also recommends the county Board of Supervisors consider taking “a more active and collaborative leadership role in addressing homelessness countywide.”
The reasons for the findings and recommendations is that each of the three most populous cities – West Sacramento, Woodland and Davis – “demonstrate distinct approaches to addressing the multi-faceted issue of homelessness,” the report states, and offers no judgment on which is the best approach.
West Sacramento, for example, “has strategically leveraged financial mechanisms, specifically through voter-approved sales tax increases, to offer loans to developers for the acquisition and redevelopment of existing structures” which host support services.
Woodland, meanwhile, has established a centralized shelter, Fourth and Home and specifically cites the Beamer Street “campus,” but noted a “critical impediment” is the lack of reliable transportation.
The model in Davis is Paul’s Place, a four-story facility funded through private and public sources, which integrates a homeless resource hub with emergency shelter beds, transitional housing and permanent supportive housing apartment.
“A key feature of Paul’s Place is its commitment to providing on-site and referral-based services encompassing job training, mental health support, and addiction treatment for all residents,” the report finds. “However, Davis faces significant hurdles in expanding housing options for the unsheltered due to ‘Not in My Backyard’ sentiments within the community.
“While concerns regarding property values and public safety expressed by residents and business owners warrant consideration, the city needs to develop a decisive strategy to identify suitable locations for new housing and facilities that minimize community disruption,” the report states.
Interestingly, despite criticism for each of the models all three cities were commended due to their collaborative efforts and actually making progress at housing those living on the streets.
Yolo County’s exception with the report
Earlier this month, during a Board of Supervisors meeting, Yolo County issued a response to the report, agreeing in some cases and disagreeing in others.
The Grand Jury report, “Homelessness: Our Local American Tragedy,” was responded to by County Administrator Michael Webb’s Office, while a separate report was provided by the Health and Human Services Agency.
In all, there were 12 separate findings and five recommendations, although the county only responded to four of the recommendations since the first recommendation was that future Grand Juries consider “conducting a yearly investigation into the issue of homelessness.
“This would voluntarily mirror the existing obligation for annual Grand Jury reporting on aspects of Yolo County Detention Facilities, ensuring that the critical issue of homelessness receives consistent and thorough attention,” the Grand Jury states. “These important investigations should aim to assess the current state of homelessness, evaluate the efficacy of existing programs, and recommend actionable strategies for improvement.”
As for its second recommendation, the Grand Jury stated the county needs to budget dedicated funds for homeless services and better coordination with the money prioritized to streamline service delivery.
In response, the county reported the recommendation had been implemented to strengthen the Yolo County Homeless Continuum of Care and achieve functional zero by 2027.
“This includes expanding new partnerships and reinforce existing efforts with homeless nonprofit organizations and city partners; as well as, utilizing new housing partnerships to expand inventory to increase affordable housing for adults and families,” according to the county.
Recommendation 3 was that the county needs to “proactively research and assist existing homelessness service providers in identifying appropriate and accessible locations for their services. This includes actively exploring and establishing well-managed ‘safe parking’ sites, along with developing clear operational guidelines and providing consistent oversight to ensure the safety and well-being of participants and the surrounding community.”
In response, the county stated the recommendation would not be implemented “because it is not warranted or is not reasonable. The Board of Supervisors has no authority regarding the use of parking lots within city limits and cannot unilaterally implement ‘safe parking’ sites.”
Recommendation 4 was that the county should establish a dedicated and mobile “Mental Health Outreach Team specifically trained to engage with and provide services to homeless individuals. This team would be responsible for actively seeking out individuals in need, conducting mental health assessments, providing immediate support and crisis intervention, and facilitating connections to ongoing mental health care and other essential resources.”
In response, the county again stated the recommendation would not be implemented because it was not warranted. The county cited the Health and Human Services Agency response in that it partially agrees with this finding.
“Development of a mobile mental health outreach program is indeed a best practice and a component of a comprehensive behavioral health system of care that Yolo County ultimately desires,” the response states. “However, at this time there is insufficient funding to support such an approach.”
As for the fifth recommendation, that the Board of Supervisors consider taking a more active and collaborative leadership role in addressing homelessness countywide, such as providing dedicated funding, clear strategic guidance, and facilitating enhanced communication and coordination between the cities and rural areas within the county, the county responded that it had implemented the request.
“The Board of Supervisors work in collaboration with city governments to focus on regional policy and implementation strategies to respond to homelessness within the County of Yolo through the Executive Commission to Address Homelessness,” the response stated.
New Walter’s House promotes compassion, provides care to most vulnerable
Late last year, in December, elected officials, health care providers, and representatives from Fourth & Hope and Friends of the Mission celebrated the grand opening of the expanded Walter’s House facility at the East Beamer Way campus.
The new treatment facility neighbors a 100-bed homeless shelter and 60 permanent supportive housing units at the campus located at 1901 E. Beamer St.
Walter’s House has a new expanded facility, which was unveiled to the public on Dec. 5, 2024. (Courtesy/Daily Democrat)Walter’s House offers comprehensive residential treatment for individuals overcoming substance dependency. Recognizing addiction as a multifaceted condition—physical, mental, emotional and spiritual—the program combines evidence-based therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Motivational Interviewing (MI) with spiritual support.
This significant expansion increases treatment capacity from 44 to 60 beds, addressing the urgent need for substance use disorder treatment services in Yolo County.
The 15,000-square-foot facility was unveiled with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, complete with remarks from people involved in the seven-year-long project, including Fourth & Hope Executive Director Doug Zeck.
“Some of the individuals in our communities suffer, and we recognize that they’re our neighbors — they’re our friends, they’re our sons are, our daughters, aunts, uncles,” Zeck said. “Many of you know people that have been suffering with substance use disorder and mental health issues. This place is really a place for a hope for them, and so we’re very pleased as an organization to be able to participate in their healing with you.”
The updated and expanded facility offers specialized sections, with 40 beds for men and 20 for women. Each section has dedicated restrooms, laundry facilities and recreation rooms designed to support a structured recovery environment.
Project developer Friends of the Mission — a non-profit organization based in Woodland focusing on affordable housing and shelters for individuals, families, and youth in need — was the contracted developer for the sight, and in addition, the city of Woodland provided the land for the project, in a move to show commitment to diverse, evidence-based responses to substance use disorders.
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