Sacramento County introduces ‘housing pool’ to help connect homeless with solutions
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sacramento launches flexible housing pool to link homeless, at‑risk residents to rentals.
- Program pairs rental subsidies, housing navigation and landlord incentives.
- State CalAIM policy, $5.8M grant and BH funding rules enable rollout.
Sacramento County is launching a flexible housing pool for residents on the verge of becoming, or who are, homeless, as well as a payment incentive program for landlords.
The program was approved by the Board of Supervisors in December 2025 and seeks to assist homeless residents from exiting a shelter to permanent housing, said Emily Halcon, the director of the department of homeless services and housing. The program will offer rental assistance, focus on helping individuals find housing and finding other support services.
At its core, the pool acts as a pathway into permanent housing for homeless residents exiting a shelter, Halcon added. The county describes the Flexible Housing Pool as “a coordinated, countywide system that aligns rental assistance, housing navigation and supportive services for eligible Medi-Cal members.” It’s a centralized program that helps bridge and coordinate between those who need services and those who can help provide them.
“It’s almost like creating a little Zillow for homeless housing,” Halcon said. “...It creates a tool so that we’re making appropriate referrals.”
Halcon said the housing pool will help residents who face financial and income barriers preventing them from being able to rent. Landlords will be able to offer their units to clients of the housing pool, Halcon said. Currently, Sacramento County does not have that kind of working relationship with landlords in a way the pool would provide, Halcon said.
“...Their unit is going to be leased up, and it’s going to be well taken care of,” Halcon said. “...They’re going to be paid rent on time, (and) they’re not going to have to deal with tenant issues.”
The housing pool will provide residents who have been previously homeless, or those at risk of becoming homeless, with low-income housing options. On the landlord end of the agreement, the pool will assist its future tenants with housing referrals and create a homeless tracking and reporting system, according to a county news release.
Policy changes
Close to 9,000 homeless people live in Sacramento County, according to a recent report by Sacramento Steps Forward. Sacramento County is also reorganizing leadership for the Continuum of Care Board, a nonprofit that manages homeless prevention funding and services.
A flexible housing pool typically provides rent subsidies and case management for people at risk of homelessness, according to the California Department of Health Care Services. This model has been used in other areas with significant homeless populations, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, Halcon added.
Halcon explained the pool is possible now because of state policy changes. For example, CalAIM Transitional Rent, a Medi-Cal program that focuses on rental assistance, now requires individuals on Medi-Cal programs to be offered short-term housing help. This program prioritizes the needs of those with behavioral health challenges, the county’s news release explained. Additionally, the Behavioral Health Services Act now requires counties to have 30% of its funding go to housing programs.
Sacramento County was also awarded $5.8 million through a state DCHS grant to launch the housing pool with Brilliant Corners, a housing nonprofit.
“At scale though, we imagine the flex housing pool serving a broad swath of the population, not just behavioral health clients,” Halcon said. “We’re just trying to really take advantage of the MediCal funding that coming from the state this year.”
‘Core component of prevention’
The program primarily helps homeless residents with behavioral health obstacles and who need housing within a year of exiting a shelter, according to the county’s new release. As the program evolves, Halcon envisions the pool expanding to the general homeless population.
“This could be a core component of prevention,” Halcon said. “Folks who are just at the precipice of entering homelessness...we have visions of building this out primarily focusing on helping people quickly exit homelessness, whether they be engaged in behavioral health or not.”
This story was originally published January 20, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
