Housing first became law of the land in California in 2016 when the state required all state-funded programs to adopt the model. The federal government also uses that framework. But in 2015, the U.S.

Nipomo native Henrique Rico had been living on the streets for a decade when he found a home via Transitions-Mental Health Association in San Luis Obispo. “I was ready to give up, actually,” Rico, 50 ...