Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless announces Project Homekey success and transition in leadership

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless (TCH) is pleased to hear local candidates discussing the issue of housing and homelessness in South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County. TCH and our broad community of supporters and partners have shared so many successes since our inception seven years ago. In 2022, we are celebrating that:

● Over the last 2 years unsheltered homelessness in South Lake Tahoe is down by more than 80%
● Calls for service and avoidable hospitalizations reduced by over 40%.

● Clients staying in Project Homekey housing are only required to pay 30% of their income for the housing.
● We also recently achieved ‘functional zero’ for Veteran homelessness. 16% of clients living in Project Homekey housing are veterans.
● The South Lake Tahoe Police Department reported a significant drop in calls related to homelessness. In 2020 there were 1,159 to just 796 in 2021.

In late 2020, TCH purchased three old motels near the Y using funding provided by the state program, Project Homekey, which allows organizations to convert motels into long-term housing. Over the last two years, we have worked to rehabilitate the properties and convert them to affordable housing with services for our community’s unhoused population. Today we are housing 40 people and we hope to bring that number up to 60 over the next year. With this investment in our community, we are transforming our local ecosystem of care from temporary emergency shelter to permanent housing with services.

Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless case management staff work with clients to connect with healthcare providers, gather identity documentation, access income and benefits, and create a plan for long-term housing. TCH works closely with partners to provide critical resources to both the housed and
unhoused. Bombas provides shipments of warm socks and Barton Foundation makes multiple deliveries of food donations each week through a partnership with Whole Foods

The Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless’ main headquarters offers a range of services and resources all in one central location. The front lobby is stocked with basic resources such as hygiene supplies, warm coats and hats, light snacks, and water bottles. Clients can access phones, computers, wireless internet, and printers. Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless staff provides assistance in completing job and housing applications, creating and printing resumes, and searching for apartments. Restrooms are also available or clients can sign up to take a hot shower, which helps many maintain employment while saving up and searching for housing.

The services we are able to provide along with our community partners
save our community a lot of money.

Without housing, the vulnerable end up using a lot of emergency services, whether it’s calls to the police and fire departments or ambulance rides and stays in the emergency room. One stay in the ER could cost about $10,000 while it costs the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless about $10,000 to provide long-term housing for a person experiencing homelessness for a year.

Our Board is dedicated to continuing to offer our life-changing services and to completing necessary improvements to our three properties so that we may provide permanent affordable housing with services long into the future. As we head into colder months and the Season of Giving, consider Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless in your year-end donations.

$33 supports one resident’s housing per day
$142/day-utilities/day per property
$1000 supports a resident for a month

For more information, contact info@tahoehomeless.org or visit https://tahoehomeless.org/.