State Awards Fresno $10.49M to Keep Shelter Beds and Expand Services

Mayor Jerry Dyer announced the State of California has awarded the City of Fresno $10,491,196.56 from the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 6 program to stabilize emergency shelter capacity and expand case management. City officials said roughly half of the funding is expected within the next few months and a second disbursement is expected next year, with city documents indicating the second payment is due in 2027.

“Since the start of my administration, we have provided shelter to more than 11,000 people, more than half of which have exited homelessness,” Mayor Jerry Dyer said, adding that “these funds from the State are absolutely critical in our work to address the complex challenges of homelessness. Having the Governor’s and Legislature’s ongoing support in this work is invaluable.”

City spokesperson Sontaya Rose provided operational detail about where the money will be used, saying, “The state grant will support the operations of the Ambassador Inn, Victory Village, Travel Inn, Villa Motel, and Fresno Home, among others, until the city converts them to permanent housing.” The city’s announcement ties the HHAP-6 award directly to ongoing motel-conversion work and shelter operations already managed by the municipal homelessness program.

Officials said the award will support more than 500 existing emergency shelter beds for adults ages 18 and older and fund case management services designed to help shelter residents exit homelessness. The City has relied on similar state funds for motel conversions in recent years and has incorporated shelter-to-housing conversions into its homelessness strategy.

The HHAP-6 allocation supplements prior state funding Fresno has received for homelessness programs. City spokesperson Sontaya Rose told city reporters last year that Fresno has received more than $51 million in HHAP dollars through six rounds. Point-in-Time data from July 2024 recorded 1,357 homeless individuals living in shelters in Fresno County, underscoring demand for the beds the new award will sustain.

Municipal documents provide additional context on concurrent state grants and projects: Fresno was awarded $17 million through the state’s Encampment Resolution Fund Round 2 to fund street outreach, shelter operations, acquisition of a 44-unit motel to convert into 33 permanent units, and development of surplus land into 24 permanent units. The city has applied for another $11 million through Round 3. On Homekey Round 3, the city’s joint applications requested $21,983,607, $16,450,000, and $9,800,000; the city received awards of $21,983,604 for the Valley Teen Ranch project and $9,598,131 for City Studios, with a third application still in process.

City officials say the immediate next step is receipt of the first disbursement and the release of an allocation plan; the funds are intended to support operations at named city-owned shelters and provide case management while those sites are converted to permanent housing.