Ray Bramson

This year, two bills moving through California reveal the competing visions shaping the state’s response to one of its greatest humanitarian failures. One asks how we stop people from losing housing in the first place. The other focuses on managing the consequences after people have already fallen into crisis.

This year, two bills moving through the state reveal the competing visions shaping California’s response to one of its greatest humanitarian failures. One asks how we stop people from losing housing in the first place. The other focuses on managing the consequences after people have already fallen into crisis.

There’s a number that should fundamentally change how we talk about homelessness in Santa Clara County: 20,000. That’s how many people are no longer homeless — now housed — as a result of the community’s coordinated effort under the Community Plan to End Homelessness since 2020. It’s a remarkable milestone, and yet if you listen to the public conversation, you might barely hear it mentioned.