The two-day event drew nearly 500 nonprofit leaders, policymakers, and advocates from across Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and even beyond, under the theme “Common Ground for the Common Good.” Conversations throughout the summit were framed by the “vital conditions” — seven interconnected pillars for building thriving communities: basic needs for health and safety, humane housing, meaningful work and wealth, lifelong learning, reliable transportation, belonging and civic muscle, and a thriving natural world.

During a humane housing panel, California Assemblymembers Dr. Corey Jackson and Robert Garcia tackled the Inland Empire’s affordability crisis head-on. Jackson stressed the need for government, nonprofits, and the private sector to end siloed work and coordinate strategies. 

“There isn’t a single report, study, or recommendation that doesn’t say we have to stop operating in silos,” Jackson said. “If we’re all serving the same population, we should be coordinating, sharing information, and creating spaces where nonprofits, government, and business can hear the same message and work together. That’s when we can truly call ourselves a community and deliver for the people we profess to care about.”

Pressed on why developers continue building larger, costlier homes, Jackson pointed to the economics of land value and profit margins. He highlighted his bill, AB 317, which incentivizes smaller, more affordable homes so younger generations can buy in the communities where they grew up. 

Garcia said decades of underbuilding are a key driver of high housing costs. “Housing is the issue of our time right now. It is increasingly more and more unaffordable for many families,” Garcia said. “One of the solutions is the supply side — the reason housing is so expensive is because we do not have the units that should have been built decades prior. But, with the recent legislation that was passed is to streamline the development for rental housing and single family homes. The Inland Empire is definitely a place where we can build more housing and make it affordable.”

Jackson pushed back on the stigma surrounding affordable housing. “The biggest misconception is that affordable housing is going to lead to crime and all kinds of other things that you should be afraid of. And it’s absolutely not true. If you want a safe community, you want to make sure everyone has housing they can afford,” he said. He also placed responsibility on bad actors in the housing market, singling out slumlords for failing to make repairs, ignoring sewage issues, and allowing infestations and mold to persist. “Anyone doing business in the housing market… has a responsibility, and those are not negotiable,” he said.

He also addressed “not in my backyard” opposition. “We need to stop saying we want housing, but I don’t want ‘that type of housing near me’ because that type of housing is going to ‘bring those kinds of people,’” Jackson said. “To be honest, those kinds of people don’t want to live near you anyway.”

The discussion expanded beyond housing to food insecurity, with Jackson noting recent federal cuts to SNAP benefits. He said he hosted a statewide listening session to prepare for the impact and secured funding to keep California’s food bank support at $60 million instead of dropping to $6 million. He also addressed environmental concerns about streamlined housing legislation potentially paving the way for unchecked warehouse or industrial development, saying, “We’re in a crisis. The status quo is no longer acceptable. If we see people taking advantage of it, there’ll be bills to close those holes — but we cannot be afraid to act.”

Following the panel, Inland Empire Community News sat down with Jackson one-on-one. He reiterated his call for coordinated, cross-sector action, stressing that housing, homelessness, and food insecurity are deeply interconnected. “We have to stop working in isolation,” he said. “Government, nonprofits, and business all need to be hearing the same message and working from the same plan.”

Throughout the summit, speakers linked humane housing to the broader vital conditions, arguing that neglect in one area — whether transportation, education, jobs, or environmental health — can cascade into others. The event challenged leaders to align policy, funding, and grassroots efforts to reinforce one another, rather than work in silos.

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Riverside County will use $12.6 million in state funding to clear homeless encampments along the Murrieta Creek Trail.

The planned cleanup, set to begin in April, is the third such project launched by the county.

The county Board of Supervisors approved the use of the funds Tuesday, March 11.

The area spans over 12 miles, connecting the unincorporated areas of Temecula, Murrieta, Wildomar and Lake Elsinore, according to a county report.

In addition to clearing encampments, the county aims to provide permanent housing for 80 people currently living along the Murrieta Creek Trail, according to Deputy Director of Housing and Workforce Solutions Tanya Torno.

The Murrieta Creek project builds on the success of similar efforts in the Santa Ana and San Jacinto riverbeds, Torno said, and brings various county departments, cities and nonprofits together in a “holistic approach” to addressing homelessness.

“This new project represents a continued commitment to providing lasting solutions and transforming the lives of those in need,” Torno added.

In addition to clearing encampments, officials will work to find housing and provide services to those living near rivers and creeks, according to the county. Those who are moved from the project area will have access to educational, workforce, training and financial programs.

In addition, the county is also working to improve existing emergency shelters.

Key components of the Murrieta Creek plan include creating 50 additional emergency shelter beds through partnerships with God’s Fan Club Project Touch and the city of Murrieta, as well as the establishment of 80 permanent housing subsidies to support the rapid rehousing of people experiencing homelessness.

“These measures will provide both immediate stabilization and long-term housing solutions for the population served by the project,” the county said in a report.

Riverside County has already used state funds to relocate people living in encampments along the Santa Ana and San Jacinto riverbeds.

The county also plans to build a navigation center near Hemet, and it opened a navigation center in Palm Springs earlier in 2024, according to a county news release. The centers offer what are called wrap-around services to assist those without permanent shelter.

During the two prior encampment cleanup projects, the county moved 188 people from the Santa Ana riverbed and 45 people from the San Jacinto riverbed into permanent housing, Torno said.

California is directing more than $34 million to the Inland Empire to help clear local homeless encampments, following Gov. Gavin Newsom order in July 2024 for local governments to address homelessness in their communities.

The funds — some of the more than $130 million the state awarded to 18 local governments — will be used to provide shelter for residents currently living in encampments in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The push to clear encampments for homeless people followed a June 2024 Supreme Court decision, City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, which allows local governments to arrest people camping on public property, even when there are no shelter spaces available for them.

Riverside County conducts the Point-in-Time Count, a canvass of residents without permanent shelter, every other year. In 2023, the county found 3,725 homeless people. Since 2020, the county’s homeless population has grown by 29%.

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