Affordable Housing
There is not enough affordable housing stock in Marin to meet the needs of our community. Learn more about the County's Affordable Housing Program.
The Marin County Housing Trust Fund was created to increase the stock of permanently affordable homes in the County, during the June 2023 budget hearings the Board approved a $5M annual General Fund contribution to the Housing Trust Fund for the next five years.
Other 2023 Board actions related to affordable housing:
- Approved a $4M loan from the County's Housing Trust Fund to support the preservation of an 80-unit affordable housing complex in Fairfax at the Sherwood
Oaks Apartments. - Supported the Oak Hill apartment development of 135 units of workforce housing for Marin County Office of Education teachers and staff, and County of Marin Employees.
- Allocated $500,000 to Marin Foster Care Association to purchase a 10-unit complex to provide housing to youth who aged out of the foster care system.
- Approved the Marin County Housing Element.
Coordinated Entry
The County of Marin, through Health and Human Services, provides a coordinated system of care (known as Coordinated Entry) for homeless individuals in Marin that includes outreach and engagement multiple times weekly, opportunities for shelter, and housing-based case management services.
Given the severe lack of affordable housing in Marin and the limited availability of Section 8 vouchers to support individuals, the process of getting people experiencing homelessness a home can take a frustratingly long time. Most people experiencing homelessness in Marin are Marin residents. The Marin County 2022 Point-In-Time Count Report showed that 78% of people experiencing homelessness in Marin were last housed in Marin before becoming homeless.
Housing First
All of these efforts of Coordinated Entry are based on an approach called Housing First where staff from the County and multiple community based organizations identify permanent housing destinations with individuals and work daily to provide the supports needed to secure housing and address any other needs. These staff also meet regularly to review the individual cases and circumstances of each person to address any challenges and ensure a path forward to housing.
Our Housing First approach began in October 2017. Together, we have housed over 650 people in Permanent Supportive Housing. 94% remain housed. There are approximately 876 people prioritized for Permanent Supportive Housing out of the 1,675 individuals experiencing homelessness in Marin.
Despite limited resources, we are creating over 150 new beds for people experiencing homelessness and needing supportive care:
- 3301 Kerner (40 beds – San Rafael)
- Jonathan’s Place (32 beds + shelter – San Rafael – open now)
- 1251 South Eliseo (43 beds – Larkspur – open now)
- Casa Buena (18 beds – Corte Madera – open now)
- Homeward Bound (50 beds – Novato).
Resources
- Emergency Shelter
- Marin County Mobile Crisis Team: 415-473-6392
- Hours: Monday through Friday 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m
- Crisis Stabilization Unit: 415-473-6666
- Access and Assessment Line: 888-818-1115
- Suicide Crisis Lifeline: Dial 988
- Crisis Text Line: Text “Marin” to 741-741
- Public Assistance: 415-473-3400
- CalFresh
- CalWORKs
- Medi-Cal
- and more