Homeless assistance through CalFresh - what counts as proof when staying with family?

I went through this last year. For the letter from your family member, make sure it includes: 1) Their full name and address, 2) Statement that they're temporarily housing you and your kids, 3) The exact dates you've been staying there, 4) How many people in your household, 5) Their signature and contact phone number. My sister also wrote that she couldn't continue housing us beyond another month due to her lease restrictions. The county accepted this without questions. Make sure your sister mentions it's temporary - that's really important for the homeless assistance qualification.

when i did it they wanted my brother to also provide his ID copy with the letter. and make sure the phone # is one they can actually reach your sister at bcuz they called mine to verify

I've been through this twice unfortunately. The letter needs to clearly state why you're considered homeless according to their definition. In my experience, make sure your sister writes that 1) you have NO formal rental agreement, 2) the arrangement is TEMPORARY, and 3) you have no legal right to stay there. Those three points were what finally got mine approved after my first attempt was rejected. Also ask your worker if they have a template - some counties do!

When I worked with housing assistance cases, the biggest issues we saw with family-stay letters were vagueness and inconsistency. Beyond what others mentioned, your sister should explicitly state whether you're contributing financially to the household while staying there. If you are paying anything, even just for food or utilities, note the approximate amount. This prevents confusion about whether it's actually an informal subletting arrangement. Also, if there are restrictions (like 'sleeping on couch' or 'sharing bedroom with my children'), include those details as they strengthen the case that this is temporary crisis housing rather than a permanent solution.

they denied mine twice becuz they said i wasnt really homeless if family was letting me stay!!! had to get a homeless advocate to help. the system is SO BROKEN make sure u say its TEMPORARY and ur sister needs to say she CANT KEEP U THERE!!! good luck tho its worth it when it finally goes thru

I've been trying to call my county worker about the same issue for THREE DAYS and keep getting stuck in their automated system. Finally found Claimyr.com that got me through to a real person in 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 - totally worth it to get actual answers about the homeless assistance documentation. My case worker ended up emailing me their preferred letter format right away once I actually got through.

Just wanted to share something important I learned when submitting my sister's letter - make sure your CalFresh case notes already show you reported being homeless. When I first applied for homeless assistance, they rejected me because I hadn't previously reported my housing situation change on my regular CalFresh case. Had to update that first, then reapply for the homeless assistance with the letter. Might save you some time if you make sure that's already documented.

One more thing I forgot to mention - if your sister receives any benefits herself (CalFresh, CalWORKs, etc.), make sure the letter clarifies that you're not part of her household for benefits purposes. My cousin got her benefits reduced when she wrote a letter for someone because the county assumed they were adding people to their household. Just have her state clearly that you prepare and purchase food separately.

I hope this helps - I just went through the same process a few months ago. One thing that really helped me was having my aunt include the reason WHY she couldn't let us stay permanently (in her case, her lease only allowed immediate family as guests for max 30 days). The county worker said that kind of detail really strengthens the temporary housing argument. Also, if you have any documentation about your previous housing situation ending (like notice from landlord about the sale), include copies of that too. It shows you didn't choose to leave your housing voluntarily. The whole process took about 3 weeks for me once I submitted everything correctly, but the emergency food assistance was approved much faster. Hang in there - it's worth pushing through all the paperwork when you really need the help!