November is a busy month here at GFW and not just because of all the activity surrounding our annual Thanksgiving meals! November is Homelessness Awareness Month, November 16-22 is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, and this month will kick off MC Gives for Monterey County. Let’s take a closer look at what November means for GFW and how you can get involved this year!
Homelessness Awareness Month
November is Homelessness Awareness Month, and as such there will be plenty of statistics floating around. On a national level, homelessness has steadily risen year over year since 2022. In 2024, the national homeless census reported an 18% increase in people experiencing homelessness, totaling a record-high of 771,480 people nationwide. Monterey County saw a very similar trajectory, with a 19% increase in 2024, with up to 2,436 individuals experiencing homelessness in Monterey County on any given night. Almost one-third of these individuals are over the age of 50, and these older adults are the fastest growing demographic of those experiencing homelessness. These numbers, crucially, do not include those living in permanent supportive housing or those living in “crowded housing,” such as multiple households living in one unit. This means the number of Monterey County residents living one missed paycheck or unexpected expense away from homelessness is significantly higher as well.
Another shocking number to look at this month is the number of people considered to be “chronically homeless.” The definition of chronic homelessness generally means a person who has been experiencing homelessness for 12 months or longer, or has experienced four or more episodes of homelessness within the last three years. While nationally, the percentage of people experiencing chronic homelessness rose from 17% to 22%, in Monterey County, that percentage is now a staggering 78%. There are, of course, multiple factors contributing to this statistic, but by far the biggest one is poverty. Monterey County has one of the highest poverty rates in the country, and is actually the childhood poverty capital of California. Of the individuals experiencing homelessness in Monterey County, 79% stated that their main obstacle to permanent housing was that they could not afford rent, with a further 60% saying they were unemployed or under-employed despite looking for work. At GFW, we’ve noted that it takes our guests an average of three years from the time they first enroll in our services to the time they are
able to find permanent housing again. While we don’t have these numbers on a county-wide scale, the picture it paints for our guests is a harrowing one.
These statistics for Monterey County tell a clear story. A person or family loses their housing due to rising housing costs, is unable to work or find employment at a level that can sustain the rental prices in the county, and while they seek the housing, rental, and employment assistance they need, they automatically fall into the chronically homeless category. This is important because a lot of funding marked as “Rapid Re-Housing” funding is only available to people who have been experiencing homelessness for up to 24 months or two years or less. With the average GFW guest waiting three years for affordable housing options, they are losing the ability to access support networks ostensibly created for them.
So, for Homelessness Awareness Month, take a few minutes to read the Monterey County Homeless Census (or just the Executive Summary), then share what you’ve learned with your friends and family. Raising awareness around Monterey County’s unique challenges to addressing homelessness is exactly why this month was created!
Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week (November 16 – 22)
The third week of November is a national week of events dedicated to raising awareness around Hunger and Homelessness, as the two are so often interlinked. Hunger – or food insecurity, as it is sometimes called – is a product of poverty. Nationwide, 37.2 million Americans, including 1 in 6 children, live in poverty. In Monterey County, that number is nearly double, with 1 in 3 children living in poverty. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Monterey County had more homeless students than San Francisco and San Jose combined, and that has not changed in the subsequent years. In fact, over half of the Food Bank for Monterey County’s clients each year are children.
In the U.S., hunger affects around 13.5% of households. In Monterey County, that number is more than double, at 34% of county residents being affected by hunger or food insecurity. Hunger is often the first symptom of the greater level of poverty a household is experiencing, and if those systemic issues are not addressed quickly, homelessness is soon to follow. Already, one-third of children and families enrolled in the Food Bank for Monterey County’s school programs are homeless. And, as we know, that number is increasing.
That’s why every year, HHWeek.Org spends the whole week partnering with local communities to host events and raise awareness around this issue. You can find more information on national Hunger and Homelessness statistics, available resources, and how to host an event to raise awareness in your community on their website. Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is a great time to show your support for your local initiatives and nonprofits working on these issues!
GFW’s Big Idea! (MC Gives Kick-off)
Of course, November is also the kick-off of Monterey County’s premier fundraising event: MC Gives! Friends of GFW will know that we do our absolute best every year to bring exciting and innovative programs to our guests so we may better support them on their personalized pathway out of homelessness. This year, GFW is working hard just to keep up with the increased need for our services. With a 25% increase in daily attendance and service requests from this time last year, our staff and volunteers are spending every minute finding new ways to serve more people with the same or fewer resources. That’s why our MC Gives campaign is focusing on Rising to the Occasion: Meeting the Newly Increased Needs of our County. With your support, we can continue to serve the homeless and housing-insecure women and families in our community.
If you want to show your support for GFW’s Big Idea, you can find us at our MC Gives page! Looking for ways to make your donation go further? Trying to get a last-minute donation in for a tax deduction? Been thinking about donating but just haven’t yet? Look no further! Each year, the MC Gives Match allows your dollar to go further, by providing a matching donation to the nonprofit of your choice. That means for every dollar you donate, the organization gets your donation + a matching donation! It’s two for the price of one!
Your support this year means more than ever before. With federal funding cuts putting many nonprofits in limbo, it’s private donations that are keeping GFW going. While our vital case managers and housing navigators are supported by state and federal funding, those potential losses are made up through the kindness and generosity of our community support. The GFW Team is thankful for each and every one of our supporters – past, present, and future – for getting us started, keeping us going, and now supporting us through these times of uncertainty. We could not do it without you!
For more information on MC Gives, National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week, or Homelessness Awareness Month, you can follow GFW on our Facebook or Instagram pages or join our newsletter as we update you with more resources and information. Help spread the word and raise awareness for your favorite local nonprofits!
How can you help?
In addition to raising awareness around Homelessness, Hunger, and local fundraising opportunities like MC Gives, you can be part of the larger solution to homelessness and support GFW’s efforts and our guests by:
- Supporting local efforts to build more affordable housing
- Supporting local homelessness prevention efforts like rental assistance and financial education programs
- Volunteering your time and talents to local homeless service providers
- Donating clothing or personal care items, or making a monetary contribution to your local homeless service providers
- Becoming an ambassador by telling everyone you know about your favorite non-profit and what we are doing to help!
If you are ready to be part of the solution, you can find ways to get involved at GFW on our website, or contact us at info@gatheringforwomen.org.
The Main Contributor for this post is:
Resources used in this post:
- State of Homelessness: 2025 Edition – https://endhomelessness.org/state-of-homelessness/
- County of Monterey Homelessness Data – https://www.countyofmonterey.gov/government/departments-a-h/administrative-office/homelessness-strategies-and-initiatives/homelessness-data
- Monterey County 2024 Homelessness Survey (Point-in-Time Count) – https://chsp.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2024-Monterey-County-Census-Release-Presentation.pdf
- Food Bank for Monterey County – https://foodbankformontereycounty.org/what-we-do/hunger-in-monterey-county/
- HUD Exchange – https://www.hudexchange.info/homelessness-assistance/coc-esg-virtual-binders/coc-program-components/permanent-housing/rapid-re-housing/
- HHWeek.Org – https://hhweek.org/hunger-and-homelessness/
- USDA Economic Research Service – https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics
- Monterey Herald, “Homelessness among Monterey County Students continues to climb.” June, 13, 2025. – https://www.montereyherald.com/2025/06/13/homelessness-among-monterey-county-students-continues-to-climb/
- MC Gives – https://www.montereycountygives.com/
Additional Resources used in graphs:
- National Unemployment Rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics – https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
- Statewide Unemployment Rate from CA EDD – https://edd.ca.gov/en/about_edd/news_releases_and_announcements/unemployment-august-2025/#:~:text=Unemployment%20Rate%20Remains%20Steady%20at%205.5%20Percent&text=SACRAMENTO%20%E2%80%94%20California%20gained%203%2C800%20nonfarm,comes%20from%20two%20separate%20surveys.
- Monterey County Unemployment Rate from EDD – https://labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/cgi/databrowsing/localAreaProfileQSResults.asp?selectedarea=Monterey+County&selectedindex=27&menuChoice=localareapro&state=true&geogArea=0604000053&countyName=&submit1=View+Local+Area+Profile
- Statewide Poverty Rates from California Budget and Policy Center – https://calbudgetcenter.org/resources/californias-persistent-poverty-crisis-2024-rates-remain-alarmingly-high/
- Statewide Hunger rates from California Food Banks – https://www.cafoodbanks.org/hunger-data-reports/
- Statewide Homelessness Rates from Public Policy Institute of California – https://www.ppic.org/blog/homelessness-hits-record-high-in-california-jumps-dramatically-in-rest-of-us/
- Statewide Chronic Homelessness rate from California Budget and Policy Center – https://calbudgetcenter.org/resources/who-is-experiencing-homelessness-in-california/
