Hollister council members this week unanimously supported a county effort to declare a homelessness crisis San Benito County.
Council members voted 4-0 in favor of the resolution Monday night. It came weeks after the San Benito County Board of Supervisors approved a similar resolution. The approval came with little discussion by the city officials.
According to the city agenda:
Jim Rydingsword, HHSA Director of the San Benito County is requesting the support of the City Council of the City of Hollister by adopting a Resolution Declaring the Existence of a Shelter Crisis within the City of Hollister. The Governor and Legislature require jurisdictions seeking an allocation through the Homeless Emergency Aid Program to declare a Shelter Crisis.
The City of Hollister finds that the 2017 San Benito County Point In Time Homeless Census count of 527 are homeless and living without shelter and reflects an increase of 173% compared with 2011. The county finds that nearly 73% of the Homeless population in 2017 report having lived on the streets for more than one year with 90% of that population having been a resident of San Benito County prior to their latest incidence of homelessness.
-Kollin Kosmicki
