WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: This facility will create 15 permanent supportive housing units dedicated to Tribal elders, expanding culturally responsive housing and supportive services in Northern California.
UKIAH – Recently, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) joined the Northern Circle Indian Housing Authority (NCIHA), Tribal leaders, elected officials, community partners, and Tribal elders to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Inter-Tribal Elder Village in Ukiah. Supported by California’s Community Care Expansion (CCE) Program, the development represents a significant investment in permanent supportive housing designed specifically to meet the needs of Tribal elders, while honoring their cultural traditions.
“The Inter-Tribal Elder Village demonstrates how California can partner with Tribal communities to create housing solutions that are culturally responsive and deeply rooted in the community,” CDSS Director Jennifer Troia said.
The CDSS awarded $10,657,757 to support the development of the project, which will create 15 two-bedroom permanent supportive housing units dedicated entirely to Tribal elders receiving Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment benefits. The project will provide safe, affordable housing, alongside wraparound supportive services that promote healthy aging, independence, and long-term housing stability. The project was shaped through extensive collaboration with Tribal leaders, Tribal elders, local governments, state agencies, and other community partners.
“We are grateful to CDSS and all of our partners for helping make this vision a reality,” Christine De Los Santos, Executive Director of NCIHA said. “The Inter-Tribal Elder Village represents a commitment to honoring Tribal elders by creating a place where they can remain connected to culture, family, and community while aging safely and with dignity. It is a lasting investment in housing equity, Tribal self-determination, and the well-being of Native communities throughout Northern California.”
Residents will receive support through NCIHA, which will include wellness programming, behavioral health services, care management, health care coordination, and financial counseling. Residents will also receive employment services though the Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency program and the Housing and Disability Advocacy Program. The facility, which will be in Ukiah, will have access to public transportation and local healthcare providers. Also, the nearby Ukiah Senior Center offers low-cost transportation.
The Inter-Tribal Elder Village is one of dozens of projects funded through the CCE Program to expand housing with care and supportive services for older adults, people with disabilities, individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and other Californians with complex care needs. It aligns with California’s Master Plan for Aging, a statewide effort to prevent the cycle of homelessness and unnecessary institutionalization in older populations.
More About the CCE Program:
The CCE program has awarded nearly $570 million to 61 housing projects across California, supporting the creation of more than 3,170 beds and units with care and services in communities throughout the state. To date, 29 projects representing 1,727 beds/housing units have broken ground; 14 projects representing 683 beds/housing units have completed construction; 14 projects representing 998 beds/housing units have already initiated move-in. (Projects having achieved multiple stages may be reflected more than once.)
For more information about the CCE program, visit the CCE website.
Reversing Decades of Inaction on Homelessness:
Governor Gavin Newsom is creating a structural and foundational model for America:
- Creating shelter and support: Providing funding and programs for local governments, coupled with strong accountability measures to ensure that each local government is doing its share to build housing, and create shelter and support, so that people living in encampments have a safe place to go. Designing and scaling high impact housing and homelessness programs integrated with social services – including the CalWORKs Housing Support Program, Bringing Families Home, Home Safe, and Housing and Disability Advocacy Program – in order to meet the housing needs of the highest-need families, older and dependent adults, as well as people with disabilities who are also experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Access more information about California’s integrated approach to tackling homelessness.
- Addressing mental health and its impact on homelessness: Ending a longstanding behavioral health bed shortfall in California by rapidly expanding community treatment centers and permanent supportive housing units. In 2024, voters approved Governor Newsom’s Proposition 1, which is transforming California’s behavioral health systems – delivering more than the promised 6,800 residential treatment beds (6,919) and 26,700 outpatient treatment slots (27,561) for behavioral health care.
- Creating new pathways for those who need the most help: Updating conservatorship laws for the first time in 50 years to include people who are unable to provide for their personal safety or necessary medical care, in addition to food, clothing, or shelter, due to either severe substance use disorder or serious mental health illness. Creating a new CARE court system that creates court-administered plans for up to 24 months for people struggling with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, often with substance use challenges.
- Streamlining and prioritizing building of new housing: Governor Newsom made creating more housing a state priority for the first time in history. He has signed into law groundbreaking reforms to break down systemic barriers that have stood in the way of building the housing Californians need, including broad California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reforms.
- Removing dangerous encampments: Governor Newsom has set a strong expectation for all local governments to address encampments in their communities and help connect people with support. In 2024, Governor Newsom filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court defending communities’ authority to clear encampments. After the Supreme Court affirmed local authority, Governor Newsom issued an executive order directing state entities and urging local governments to clear encampments and connect people with support, using a state-tested model that helps ensure encampments are addressed humanely and people are given adequate notice and support.
In 2025, just a year after he issued an executive order urging local governments to better address encampments, the Governor announced his State Action for Facilitation on Encampments (SAFE) Task Force to address encampments in California’s 10 largest cities. The task force has addressed encampments in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Sacramento, and Fresno – connecting dozens of people with shelter. Since 2021, Caltrans has removed more than 20,600 encampments on state right-of-way, offered services to nearly 62,000 people, and collected approximately 3.4 million cubic yards of litter and debris.
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