SACRAMENTO – Following California’s first statewide drop in unsheltered homelessness in more than 15 years — a 9 percent decline — today, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) announced that Sierra Guest Home, a housing project in Nevada County supported through a $6 million grant via the CDSS Community Care Expansion (CCE) Program, has opened for full occupancy. The project created 27 units of permanent supportive housing and will provide critical services for older adults who are experiencing physical and mental disabilities as well as homelessness or housing insecurity.
“This project demonstrates how Community Care Expansion investments are helping communities across California create safe, stable housing, paired with services that meet people where they are,” CDSS Director Jennifer Troia said. “Sierra Guest Home gives residents a place to call home and access to the supports they need to thrive.”
Located in Grass Valley’s Brunswick Basin, Sierra Guest Home includes 25 one-bedroom units and two studio units. This development is designed to help older adults who may also be at risk of incarceration, hospitalization, or institutionalization exit homelessness and remain safely housed in a facility that supports community integration and independence.
Hospitality House, the sponsor of the project, held a grand opening celebration in February for Sierra Guest Home marking its transition to full occupancy.
“CCE funding made the difference for 27 older adults who once struggled with housing security,” said Kim Grant, Director of Business Operations at Hospitality House. “Residents now have their own key at Sierra Guest Home and can stay safely housed in a community-based setting that preserves dignity and breaks the cycle of homelessness.”
More About the CCE Program: The CCE program is a key component of California’s statewide effort to expand its supply of housing with care and supportive services, improve outcomes for older adults and individuals with disabilities, and prevent the cycle of homelessness or unnecessary institutionalization. It provides vital housing with care and supportive services for vulnerable older adults and individuals with disabilities who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness, a key component of California’s Master Plan for Aging.
The CCE program has awarded nearly $570 million to 61 housing projects across California, supporting the creation of more than 3,170 beds and units with care and services in communities throughout the state. To date, 13 of the 61 CCE-funded housing projects, representing 679 new beds/housing units, have completed construction and are in the process of initiating move-in. An additional 16 projects, representing 1,138 beds/housing units, have broken ground. For more information about the CCE program, visit the CCE website.
Reversing Decades of Inaction on Homelessness:
Governor Gavin Newsom is creating a structural and foundational model for America:
- Creating shelter and support — Providing funding and programs for local governments, coupled with strong accountability measures to ensure that each local government is doing its share to build housing, and create shelter and support, so that people living in encampments have a safe place to go.
- Addressing mental health and its impact on homelessness — Ending a long-standing behavioral health bed shortfall in California by rapidly expanding community treatment centers and permanent supportive housing units. In 2024, voters approved Governor Newsom’s Proposition 1, which is transforming California’s behavioral health systems — delivering more than the promised 6,800 residential treatment beds (6,919) and 26,700 outpatient treatment slots (27,561) for behavioral health care.
- Creating new pathways for those who need the most help — Updating conservatorship laws for the first time in 50 years to include people who are unable to provide for their personal safety or necessary medical care, in addition to food, clothing, or shelter, due to either severe substance use disorder or serious mental health illness. Creating a new CARE court system that creates court-administered plans for up to 24 months for people struggling with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, often with substance use challenges.
- Streamlining and prioritizing building of new housing — Governor Newsom made creating more housing a state priority for the first time in history. He has signed into law groundbreaking reforms to break down systemic barriers that have stood in the way of building the housing Californians need, including broad California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reforms.
- Removing dangerous encampments — Governor Newsom has set a strong expectation for all local governments to address encampments in their communities and help connect people with support. In 2024, Governor Newsom filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court defending communities’ authority to clear encampments. After the Supreme Court affirmed local authority, Governor Newsom issued an executive order directing state entities and urging local governments to clear encampments and connect people with support, using a state-tested model that helps ensure encampments are addressed humanely and people are given adequate notice and support.
In 2025, just a year after he issued an executive order urging local governments to better address encampments, the Governor announced his State Action for Facilitation on Encampments (SAFE) Task Force to address encampments in California’s 10 largest cities. The task force has addressed encampments in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Sacramento, and Fresno — connecting dozens of people with shelter. Since 2021, Caltrans has removed more than 20,600 encampments on state right-of-way, offered services to nearly 62,000 people, and collected approximately 3.4 million cubic yards of litter and debris.