Getting your
Trinity Audioplayer ready...ANTIOCH — Antioch next month will decide on whether to accept a $34.9 million state grant intended to help some of the city’s unhoused population as concerns over a budget deficit and future funding linger.
The City Council was expected to hold a study session Monday with stakeholders to address “unanswered” questions about a Homekey+ project at the Comfort Inn hotel on Mahogany Way before deciding whether to accept or decline funding.
In 2025, the council approved a resolution to submit the Homekey+ application in partnership with nonprofit California Supportive Housing to convert the hotel into 85 supportive housing units with wraparound services for those experiencing homelessness – the hotel recently defaulted on $15 million in real estate loans.
Advocates said funding for the program will provide essential resources to help the unhoused, while opponents said committing to it would further burden the city financially.
If approved, the city would have to initially pay $750,000 and contribute up to $1.2 million annually for operations for about 15 years. Mayor Ron Bernal opposed submitting the application at the time, noting the city was facing budgetary issues.
Mayor Pro Tem Donald Freitas said there was misinformation surrounding the project and questioned the financial risks should the city decide to back out.
“Each and every one of us has a legal fiduciary responsibility. What are the facts? What is the truth? What is our financial exposure? This didn’t come up tonight. This has been long term, I’ve asked,” said Freitas during a recent City Council meeting. “And I don’t think my questions are out of line. I will not support something without knowing the facts.”
California’s Housing and Community Development Department, which administers the Homekey+ program, announced in May the city could receive the $34.9 million in funding.
Antioch had not formally accepted the grant, as the city had not executed the Homekey+ agreement with the department, according to a staff report.
Nichole Latrese Gardner, founder of Facing Homelessness in Antioch, said the City Council already knew the city was facing a budget shortfall when they decided to apply for the Homekey+ grant.
She said rejecting funding now would make it challenging for Antioch to secure future grants.
Councilmember Tamisha Torres-Walker said she had yet to see any other alternatives to resolve homelessness issues in Antioch.
“The biggest challenge I’m having is that we have been waiting 18 months for the mayor to come back with an ad hoc committee to talk about solutions to homelessness, and it still has not come back to this council,” she said.
Torres-Walker also questioned if efforts had been made to secure regional support to reduce the city’s financial burden.
She said she had personally reached out to mayors in Brentwood, Pittsburg, and Oakley and was told that no one from Antioch had contacted them to discuss regional efforts to reduce homelessness.
Antioch, said Torres-Walker, already spends millions on code enforcement contracts to clear encampments around the city.
“I think what is being asked is to not reject it but also table this discussion to the next council meeting to give those who actually want to do the work an opportunity to figure out how to relieve the burden off the general fund,” she said. “And if that’s not what you want to do, then just reject it today. What I will say is that I have no problem, and I’ve said this to the council, I have no problem renting vans and dropping people off in front of your homes if we don’t get a solution.”
Councilmember Monica Wilson said it would be a “huge mistake” not to invest in Homekey.
“We need to come up with solutions. Mr. Mayor, I haven’t heard a solution from you to be honest,” said Wilson.
Bernal said Antioch could not afford to take on the long-term financial obligations amid ongoing budget challenges.
The city has spent 18 months working to reduce a projected $54 million, two-year deficit and has reduced its shortfall to about $4.5 million, he said.
“Next year, it goes back up to $14.5 million. That’s without cost of living, getting our contracts up to date; it’s probably closer to … $18 million deficit,” said Bernal. “That’s a million and a half dollars a month. We are going negative in the city. We cannot afford or sustain that.”
Antioch has seen a slight reduction in homelessness. According to Contra Costa County Point-In-Time Count data, the city had about 413 people who were experiencing homelessness in 2024. That number went down to 251 this year.