Homelessness in San Rafael

 By the Numbers  |  Services  |  Background  |  What's Happening Now 

Homelessness continues to be a significant challenge across the United States, and San Rafael is no exception. The City takes a trauma-informed, compassionate approach to addressing homelessness response by prioritizing mental health support, connecting individuals to housing services, and collaborative community outreach. 

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, approximately 653,104 individuals were experiencing homelessness nationwide. Of these, 143,105 were chronically homeless, a staggering 65% increase since 2017. California alone accounts for more than 180,000 homeless individuals, with over 67,000 being chronically homeless. 

Addressing homelessness in San Rafael requires a collaborative approach that involves the City, County, and community based organizations who serve as service providers. The City plays a critical role in funding and policy-making, having invested over $3 million in affordable housing projects such as  3301 Kerner  and  Jonathan’s Place . Additionally, San Rafael’s Community Services Division oversees key homelessness response programs including the  Downtown Streets Team  and  WeHope  mobile shower service, as well as operational programming of the  sanctioned camping area . 

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, homelessness services in San Rafael and County of Marin were structured around available shelter space and supportive housing programs. After shelter-in-place orders in March 2020 the City of San Rafael and County of Marin coordinated on a number of programs to address homelessness services and pathways to housing including  Project HomeKey  and  Project RoomKey  which sought to place individuals in shelters including motel and hotel rooms. In July 2021, the  City launched a Service Support Area  under the Highway 101 viaduct in San Rafael in coordination with CalTRANS and the County of Marin which provided sanctioned camping and connected camp residents to service providers to support them on their pathway to housing. The Service Support Area was  closed in August 2022 .

After the closure of the Service Support Area and as the pandemic exacerbated housing insecurity, encampments grew across the City, including near Albert Park and the Mahon Creek Path area. This surge of individuals experiencing homelessness in our City reflect broader regional and national trends. By 2023, the City began the challenging process of closing many of these unsanctioned encampments. The prohibition of camping at Albert Park in March 2023 highlighted both the complexity of the issue and the need for more mental health and robust housing solutions. Following the prohibition on camping in Albert Park, many individuals relocated to other areas of the City, including Mahon Creek Path, underscoring the difficulty of managing homelessness in the absence of adequate shelter beds and other types of interim and permanent housing

San Rafael’s efforts to regulate public camping and address homelessness, by passing ordinance 2035, have faced significant legal challenges. In response to the City’s establishment of a   camping ordinance   to regulate encampments, a number of legal challenges have impacted the City’s ability to enforce its own local laws.

For most of Summer 2024 the City pursued enforcement efforts aimed at addressing illegally constructed structures in parks and city rights of way.  The City issued 49 notices by August 19, 2024—all 49 of the sites have been brought into compliance or dismantled as a result of the administrative hearing process. We’ve removed over 31 tons of debris as a result of this work. 

San Rafael is actively working on both immediate and long-term solutions to address homelessness. In 2024, the City and County of Marin jointly secured nearly $6 million in State of California Encampment Resolution Fund (ERF3) grants, which will be used to support individuals living at the Mahon Creek Path Area encampment.

While the sanctioned camping program is a temporary solution, the City remains committed to working with the County of Marin, our community based organization partners, to find solutions that honor the dignity of every person living in San Rafael, while at the same time preserving the accessibility and cleanliness of our shared public spaces; something that is crucial for the well-being of everyone who calls our City home.  

However, this work cannot be accomplished by the City alone. Because of this, the City and the County of Marin have been working to collaboratively create a more intentional and formalized City-County partnership to enhance interagency collaboration and address community needs to address homelessness in San Rafael.

San Rafael remains committed to addressing homelessness with compassion and practicality. The City's approach seeks to balance the immediate needs of individuals experiencing homelessness with the long-term goal of creating stable, permanent housing solutions. As legal challenges are navigated and new programs like the sanctioned camping area are rolled out, San Rafael continues to demonstrate its commitment to both the dignity of every resident and the accessibility of shared public spaces for all. The City’s future vision of a tiny home community offers hope for a more sustainable solution, one that can serve as a model for other communities facing similar challenges. 

To learn more about the City’s response to homelessness visit San Rafael's  Homelessness website  and subscribe to the City’s Homelessness and Housing newsletter.