SACRAMENTO, CA - They showed up at City Hall from across Sacramento. Ilene Toney, down from south Natomas. April Ybarra, whose daughters attend Hiram Johnson High School; and parent-teacher Vanessa Cudabac, who made the trip from New Technology High School, both from south Sacramento.

Inside, Sacramento City Council leaders were about to discuss the fate of RydeFreeRT — the pioneering mass transit program that ferries thousands of Sacramento kids to schools, work, venues and activities across the city each year for free — and whether it would survive potential budget cuts to help right the city’s $66 million deficit. The annual investment is funded by a city Measure U tax increase approved in 2018.

The city’s $1 million contribution to the program, credited with substantially boosting youth ridership and school attendance among the city’s Black and brown students, would end as part of a slate of proposed budget cuts.

SAN DIEGO, CA - I never thought that having a child would cause me to become homeless. I was pregnant and working full-time at a minimum-wage job when my daughter was born. My job refused me paid parental leave, and as a single parent without the income to afford costly child care, I was forced to stay home to care for my infant child. This cost me my income and my ability to pay rent.

Within months, my landlord threatened to call the sheriff to evict me. My daughters and I became homeless. We didn’t even own a car to sleep in. For months, I stayed with friends, until we found an emergency women’s shelter.

When the women’s shelter told us after a year that we needed to leave to make room for other families, I was pushed back into the nightmare of trying to find housing we could afford. Between a security deposit and first and last month’s rent, I was being asked to come up with nearly $10,000 to find a home. Working minimum wage as a single parent doesn’t afford me the ability to have that kind of savings.

By a miracle, we finally found an apartment. It was a stretch financially, but for the last seven years, my daughters and I have been stable. Finally — no more shelters. No more couch surfing.

But in 2021, things changed.

SACRAMENTO, CA - California Gov. Gavin Newsom is sponsoring a bill that would push cities to take homeless residents into account when crafting their housing goals.

But would this legislation actually result in more affordable housing? There are concerns the state is not providing enough money to get it built.

Cities have struggled to meet their state-mandated goalposts when it comes to permitting low-income units. Some advocates say planning is an empty promise without more money to build the housing.

“Gov. Newsom continues to ignore the elephant in the room — that local jurisdictions cannot meet their housing goals at lower income levels without significant additional public funding,” said Amy Schur of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment in a statement.

PITTSBURG, CA - Pittsburg renters fed up with high rents and the lack of tenant protections have moved a step closer to getting new rules on this November’s ballot.

Backed by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, housing advocates on Wednesday turned in the more than 4,000 signatures needed to bring rent stabilization, just cause evictions and tenant protection rules before voters. Election officials have 30 days to verify the signatures.

“We did it,” Richmond City Councilman and ACCE member Melvin Willis told the small group gathered in front of City Hall. “Now, with all these signatures, we are going to be able to get this on the ballot and folks who didn’t have rental protections, eviction protections before ….they have a chance to actually assert the right not to be taken advantage of by people who are just looking at their housing as another price up in the stock market.”

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento leaders are debating where the city will need to make cuts to close a $66 million budget deficit.

City Manager Howard Chan's $1.6 billion budget avoids city worker layoffs, but it also includes a variety of fee hikes and service cuts to programs.

On Monday, community members weighed in during the public comment session of the city council meeting.

"I see a lot of folks here who really care about the city, and they care about their community," said Judy Hirigoyen, who was one of several commenters who decided to speak out about the city's proposed $87,000 cut to its funding to the SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity.

"This particular museum has no alternative in the area, and you just can't go by without seeing buses that have brought children for field trips," she said.

Others came to ask the council to reconsider cutting its $1 million contribution to the SacRT Ryde Free Program to help kids get to and from school using public transit.

"Why would you take that away from people that are part of the disadvantaged populations?" asked Suzanne Ansell, with the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment organization.

LOS ANGELES, CA - A family is devastated after a 12-year-old boy was struck and killed while walking home from school in South Los Angeles.

Derrick Serrano, 12, was walking home when he crossed the street near Vernon and Wadsworth Avenues at around 3 p.m. on April 18.

That’s when a driver struck and killed the boy. His mother, Claudia Gramajo, believes his death could’ve been prevented if proper safety measures had been put in place.

“Derrick had a big heart,” Gramajo said tearfully. “The biggest heart you’ve ever known. He left home at 7:40 a.m. in the morning and he never came back.”

LOS ANGELES, CA - A family continues grieving after a 12-year-old boy was struck and killed while crossing the street in South Los Angeles.

On April 18, Derrick Serrano, 12, was walking home from school when he decided to cross the street near Vernon and Wadsworth Avenues at around 3 p.m. That’s when a driver struck and killed the boy. His mother, Claudia Gramajo, believes the deadly crash could’ve been prevented if proper safety measures were put in place.

Serrano was a 6th grader at Carver Middle School located in the South Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. He takes a short walk back home, but one that navigates heavily congested roads and intersections and is noticeably devoid of crosswalks, signs or safety signals to protect students. KTLA's John Fenoglio reports on May 4, 2024.

I’m fortunate I wasn’t sexually assaulted while living on the streets of Los Angeles County. Many unhoused women are, and some repeatedly – though being attacked three times helped me qualify for a shelter bed.

On any given night in Los Angeles County, more than 22,300 women are homeless. When I was unhoused from 2020-2023, there were only eight women’s shelters in the county, none of which were near me. All of them were at capacity.

With an underfunded homeless services sector and a growing number of Californians being pushed into homelessness, rationing help for only those deemed most vulnerable has become standard practice. Without a child, mental illness or addiction issues, it’s difficult to qualify for needed assistance and services.

Everyone that’s unhoused needs help but not everyone that’s unhoused qualifies for help.