California Project Roomkey Provided Temporary Housing To More Than 62,000 Medically Vulnerable Homeless Individuals

California’s Project Roomkey (PRK), which launched in April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic as an alternative to congregate homeless shelters, ultimately housed 62,000 people before the project ended in February 2023. The focus was on medically vulnerable residents experiencing homelessness. The state paid for the participants to stay in empty hotel rooms, motel rooms, or trailers.

Data from three counties indicated that participants who had longer PRK stays were more likely to exit to permanent housing and less likely to exit to homelessness. Statewide, about 22% of PRK participants exited to permanent housing, and another 11% exited . . .