Homeless One Year, No Bridge to Housing for James in Colusa County
- Homeless Advocacy
- Oct 22
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 8
Dec 1, 2025 | Follow-Up Report
We first wrote about James in July, when he had already been homeless for nine months. Today, more than a year into homelessness in Colusa County, he remains unhoused — and the system that was supposed to offer a bridge has still not reached him.
James currently receives behavioral health services through telehealth only. He does not have a chronic substance use disorder. He is not justice-involved. And he is not under court-ordered care.
Those details matter.
They matter even more now that state records show the County of Colusa Department of Behavioral Health received over a million dollars ($1,502,067) in Behavioral Health Bridge Housing (BHBH) funding. The funding is intended to create short-term transitional housing wrapped in supportive services tied directly to behavioral health care — a bridge between treatment and stability. But for James, that bridge still doesn’t reach him.
The Behavioral Health Bridge Housing Program was approved in September 2022 by California Governor Gavin Newsom when he signed Assembly Bill 179 into law.
The program is a statewide initiative providing funding through the Department of Health Care Services for county behavioral health agencies and tribal entities to create temporary housing with supportive services for people experiencing homelessness who have serious behavioral health conditions.
But BHBH does not function like general homeless housing.
In real terms, many placements go to people who have been released from jails, prisons, or psychiatric hospitals, people who are under court-ordered care, people with severe mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, people with chronic substance use disorders, and people already enrolled in intensive in-person behavioral health programs such as Full Service Partnership (FSP).
The Bridge to Housing program is designed to stabilize and assist at-risk populations through housing and clinical supportive services but if you are not coming from one of those entry points, it is much harder to rise to the top of the list.
James does not.
One Year Homeless in Colusa County
He is homeless, but not under court order. He is not leaving a psychiatric facility. He does not have a chronic addiction. And he is not enrolled in an in-person program like FSP, which serves individuals with major behavioral health needs and severe barriers to housing, including many who are justice-involved.
James became homeless the quiet way — through the theft of his car, the loss of his job, and eviction. The kind of homelessness that comes without paperwork.
Telehealth keeps him connected.
It does not keep him housed.
What James Told Us
When we asked James what Colusa County needs to actually reduce homelessness, he didn’t talk about programs or policy.
He talked about a place.
“People need somewhere to go — not just a room for a few nights,” he said.“Being moved in and out of motels doesn’t fix anything. It just keeps you in limbo, and it gets lonely.”
Then he paused, and added something quieter:
“It would be nice not to be treated like you’re broken.”
“While there may be no clear road into the Behavioral Health Bridge to Housing program for James,” says Susan Wagenaar, of Colusa County Recovery, “there are other programs he is eligible for that county housing workers are continuing to pursue that offer more than temporary fixes.”
Wagenaar adds, “James has told us he has to endure racist slurs in order to avoid physical escalation. We are deeply concerned that his homelessness puts him at increased risk.”
After one year homeless in Colusa County, James remains outside a system many people believe exists for everyone.
It doesn’t.
It exists to serve its design.
And James is not inside it.
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