Unhoused Resources & Efforts

Image of food being served
Image of hands holding a cardboard home
Image of basic supplies, water, cans of food, toilet paper, batteries

Unhoused Resources

Emergency Housing, Shelters, and Warming Centers

  • Gilroy Shelter, operated by HomeFirst, is a 24/7 emergency shelter for adults and families, which has a mobile laundry and provides case management services. For a referral to the Gilroy Shelter, call the Here4You hotline. For an overview of services, see the 9-27-2023 Agency Presentation.  
  • La Isla Pacifica is a Community Solutions’ emergency confidential shelter for eligible adult survivors of domestic violence/intimate partner abuse or human trafficking and their minor children.  Call 408-779-2113 during normal business hours, or the 24-Hour Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Crisis Hotline at 877-363-7238 after hours.  For an overview of services, see the 4-26-2023 Agency Presentation.
  • Ochoa Cold Weather Shelter Program (CWSP), located at 901 Arizona Circle, Gilroy, CA, is a South County Community Services seasonal, short-term emergency shelter, which requires a Here4You hotline or South County community partner referral.  The referral process starts in mid-November; do not show up or call the Ochoa Center. South County Community Services will conduct verifications, assessments, and enrollment. The shelter normally operates from mid-December through mid-March each year. The shelter has the capacity to accommodate up to 35 eligible households experiencing homelessness, each with at least one minor dependent under the age of 18. Interested persons should contact the Here4You hotline. For an overview of services, see the 6-25-2025 Agency Presentation.


    Basic Needs Services
  • South County Community Services (formerly South County Compassion Center and St. Joseph’s Family Center) at 408-842-6662 or at the general email info@sccommunityservices.org, serves as a liaison connecting unhoused persons to essential services such as food assistance, bus passes, emergency rental and utility assistance, showers and laundry, and provides access to vital resources that help the unhoused meet basic needs, gain stability, and work toward self-sufficiency. For an overview of services, see the 6-25-2025 Agency Presentation.
  • The Salvation Army - Gilroy Corps at 408-848-5373 or Lieutenant Matilde Esparza at matilde.esparza@usw.salvationarmy.org. The Salvation Army in Gilroy, located at 200 5th St., offers a laundry and shower program for the unhoused on Monday & Wednesday 8:30-11:30 AM, food pantry on Wednesday, 2-3 PM, and Friday 9-11 AM, fresh produce distribution on Thursday 10:30-12:30 PM and 1:30-2:30 PM, and hot weekday lunches 12:00-12:30 PM. For an overview of services, see the 11-29-2023 Agency Presentation.
  • PitStop Outreach at 408-843-6691 or PitStopOutreach@gmail.com. PitStop Outreach in Gilroy provides food, supplies, and sanitation to meet the basic needs of unhoused individuals during the evening, aiming to improve their safety, health, and well-being.  For an overview of services, see the 3-22-2023 Agency Presentation.
  • St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church at 408-842-4415. St. Stephen’s provides basic needs, including nutritious food, toiletries, blankets, rain ponchos, and clothing, and offers a mail service, providing an address to those without one, which serves as a vital link to government services and potential employers.
  • Sacred Heart Community Services at 408-516-5100 or housinginfo@sacredheartcs.org. Sacred Heart Community Service, as part of the Homeless Prevention System, offers rent and utility assistance. They also provide resources for basic needs, including food, clothing, housing, education, and employment support.

Emergency Housing

Go to the Emergency Housing page of this website for agencies which provide emergency housing assistance. Information on this page includes the Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Crisis Hotline number, several shelters, and the Here4You Call Center, which coordinates emergency sheltering and temporary housing.

Unhoused Service Providers Network (USPN)

The goal of USPN is to increase collaboration and partnership among the service providers and the City of Gilroy to connect the unhoused with services. Meetings are held monthly.

Presentations provided to USPN

The 2025 Santa Clara County Point-in-Time (PIT) Count 

The Santa Clara County 2025 Point-in-Time (PIT) count full report is now available at Point-in-Time count | Office of Supportive Housing | County of Santa Clara.  You can view the full report as well as the executive summary, which includes city-specific data for the City of Gilroy.  The PIT count provides communities with information about the unhoused population.  A HUD requirement, it is a count of sheltered and unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness on a single night in January.  The count is a community-wide collaborative effort and occurs in all cities and unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County.

The overall Santa Clara County PIT count increased from 9,903 in 2023 to 10,711 in 2025, an increase of approximately 800 individuals.  While this is an 8% increase, the total number has remained relatively consistent at around 10,000 since 2019.  

The PIT count has two components:  Sheltered and unsheltered.  

  • The sheltered count includes people experiencing homelessness who are living in emergency shelters, transitional housing, or safe havens.  
  • The unsheltered count includes people sleeping outdoors or in places not designed for habitation, such as streets, tents, parks, vehicles, bus or train stations, or abandoned buildings.

The number of unsheltered individuals in the County remained relatively flat.  The increase in the count is primarily in sheltered individuals.  Santa Clara County indicates that shelter and temporary housing capacity have been increasing, along with their utilization.

The Gilroy PIT count decreased from 1,048 in 2023 to 959 in 2025, a decrease of 89 people, or 8%.  Like the overall county, Gilroy experienced an increase in sheltered individuals and a decrease in unsheltered individuals, primarily due to an expansion in County program capacity and utilization, according to the County.  The expansion in program capacity and utilization would only be possible with the collaboration of local non-profits, for which the City is grateful.

The County survey results show us that the vast majority of this population is from Santa Clara County, with 83% of people surveyed indicating their last permanent residence was in the County. 70% said they had lived in the County for 10 years or longer. 

The numbers in the PIT count are not surprising. The results are consistent with what the County and homelessness experts have observed in recent years – more people are entering homelessness than exiting homelessness in the region. Factors such as the lack of affordable housing supply and wage gaps all contribute to housing insecurity in Santa Clara County.

The top four causes of homelessness based on PIT survey results reflect these challenges and are consistent with households seeking prevention assistance. These primary causes reflect the high cost of living that leave many people priced out of the area:

  1. 27% of households fall into homelessness due to job or income loss
  2. 17% of households fall into homelessness due to being impacted by the loss of family members or the dissolution of households
  3. 13% of households fall into homelessness due to health issues 
  4. 12% of households fall into homelessness due to increases in rent and evictions 

While the PIT count is used to quantify homelessness locally and nationally, the PIT count represents only a snapshot in time.  The PIT count is one piece of data used to understand homelessness in our community.

Quality of Life Officers

The City of Gilroy has two Quality of Life Officers in the Police Department who are assigned to assist with connecting unhoused individuals with resources. They make site visits and connect unhoused individuals with service providers who conduct assessments, provide services, and link the unhoused to resources and programs offered by the County and nonprofit organizations.

For the most recent update presented to the City Council, see this video from the 4/21/25 city council meeting.

2020-2025 Community Plan to End Homelessness

The City of Gilroy adopted the Santa Clara County Community Plan to End Homelessness (2020-2025), which was developed collaboratively by representatives of community-based service organizations, local government, philanthropy, business, healthcare, and people with lived experience. For the past five years, the plan has guided the County, cities, nonprofits, and other community members as they make decisions about funding, programs, priorities, and needs. 

UPDATE - In fall 2025, Gilroy staff, as well as staff from other jurisdictions, began engaging with County staff as the development of the next Community Plan to End Homelessness gets underway.  This regional collaboration will continue into 2026, with hopes of adopting the new plan in the summer of 2026. 

The Santa Clara County Office of Supportive Housing offers additional information.