Needs Increasing for Tracy Community Connections Center Clients
At Tracy Community Connections Center (TCCC), we’ve always known the need for support in our community was significant, but the past year has shown us just how quickly that need can grow. In the first six months of 2025, the number of homeless people seeking help has more than doubled compared to last year.
From January through June of 2023, TCCC served 548 clients. That number rose to 837 in the same period of 2024. But in just the first half of 2025, we served 1,954 clients. “Just straight numbers-wise, that’s kind of alarming,” said our Executive Director, Carrie Grover. “Just looking at that there is obviously something going on. I’m glad we’re here and that people are aware of us and coming to receive help but there is definitely an increase in need.”
We believe much of this increase is tied to rising housing costs and evictions. “We just aren’t keeping up with housing costs. We’ve seen the increase in mortgage rates — but I think a lot of it comes down to wages and housing costs, that’s just my best guess. It seems to be an affordability issue,” Grover explained.
At TCCC, our core programs continue to meet those needs: showers three days a week at New Heart Community Church, laundry services twice a week at Redemption Road Church, and Street Outreach every weekday providing food, hygiene kits, blankets, and transportation to appointments or housing placements. At our office, our case managers work one-on-one with clients on housing applications, rental assistance, and eviction prevention. “We’re trying to keep people who are housed, housed, and then people who are unhoused we’re trying to get them housed,” Grover said. “Whatever it is, my case managers will walk with them one-on-one, identifying their barriers to housing, and ultimately the goal is to get them in and keep them housed.”
Despite hiring additional staff, our team of 12 continues to face an overwhelming demand. “For the one family we get housed the next day a new one pops up, it does feel like we’re just treading water sometimes,” Grover noted. The challenge is compounded by lost federal funding, including cuts to the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, and ongoing concerns about Medi-Cal reductions.
Still, the work continues. Our partnerships with Tracy PD’s Familiar Faces Program, Community Medical Centers, and SJ Cares allow us to connect people with medical and behavioral health care while addressing immediate needs. Yet Grover emphasizes that homelessness isn’t always visible: “What we have seen is the city has done a good job of cleaning up the encampments but that necessitates people going elsewhere… couch surfing, living in a motel, living with family. It still is considered housing instability.”
Above all, we remain focused on the humanity of those we serve. “We see a mom living in her car with kids and these kids go to the same school as my kids go to,” Grover said. “That woman didn’t do anything wrong. She doesn’t have a lot of support. She lost her job due to a disability.”
Homelessness in Tracy is not about stereotypes but our own neighbors, families, and people who have fallen on hard times. “It’s all ages, all circumstances and I really want people to understand that is not primarily driven by drug abuse and mental health — those are an issue — but so many people we see are just down on their luck,” Grover said. “Nobody can make minimum wage and afford to live in Tracy unless you have a family, and housing prices are out of control.”
Click here to get involved. Together, we can meet the rising need and help our community’s most vulnerable find stability and hope.
Information for this article was collected by Tracy Press in collaboration with Tracy Community Connections Center. View article here.