Front Page  »  

SLO County approves spending $13.4 million to help 200 people find housing

July 13, 2023

By KAREN VELIE

San Luis Obispo County detailed plans to spend $13.4 million dollars in state grant funding to help reduce encampments in a flood and fire danger zone near the segment of the Bob Jones Bike Trail parallel to South Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo. The Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 on Tuesday to award the funds to the City of San Luis Obispo.

Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans to provide SLO County with $13.4 million “to serve 200 people from an encampment in a flood and fire danger zone.” The goal is to move the people out of the encampment and into housing.

SLO County plans to work with four key partners to launch a multi-phase project which will include construction and operation of 34 interim shelter beds and 46 supportive housing beds.

Project Partners:

• City of San Luis Obispo – Provide coordination and leadership for targeted outreach to encampment residents, including support from the Fire Department’s Mobile Crisis Unit and Law Enforcement’s Community Action Team.
• DignityMoves – A San Francisco- based developer that specializes in addressing unsheltered homelessness using rapid-build housing solutions and will lead the development of the DSS South Higuera Lot using modular construction.
• Good Samaritan Shelter – A Santa Maria-based organization with more than 25 years experience, will assist with street outreach and housing navigation to encampment residents and provide day-to-day operations and case management services for the Welcome Home Village.
• LifeArk Modular System – The affordable modular housing system product that will be used to build 80 housing units quickly and safely at the County Owned DSS South Higuera Lot.
• County of San Luis Obispo – Provide oversight and monitor progress through monthly meeting and performance outcomes tracking; Provide service access to referrals received from Good Samaritan Shelter and City of San Luis Obispo.


Loading...
Subjects:
Related:


24 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Yes I agree there is to much money to be made off of the homeless population and the local government agencies will be way to excited with the new flow to handle the problem,now how much of it goes to the problem and how much to enhance salaries paid to the problem solvers.

Now it is time for tough love if they want a hand out time to get clean,time to want a better life,if not move on.

SLO County has become the dumping ground for the homeless that want to camp,live there lifestyle without a paying rent,no mortgage,no bill,no lawn to mow but demand someone to pay for their life choices.

Let them live somewhere else or pay for their own camp ground spot.The ones that want a better life will enter a program and put down the pipe,bottle or seek mental help.


8

Is the new Board Majority working toward making SLO County a MECCA for the Homeless? This money is not just for your buddies, it is for any eligible person and it is in the global news! Come one come all, we quit funding public works, we now fund public housing. Gavin Newsom will love our willingness help solve this problem. The homeless are grateful too for the taxpayers who have voted to make these programs the County’s priority. We need a bus load from Texas too for diversity as the local homeless are mostly lazy white folks. We can make a difference as we have wealthy taxpayers who can fix their own roads, freeing up more money to make SLO County the happiest homeless destination. Another thought just occurred to me, why rent to students when there’s funding for six or more homeless in each rental and SLO is over 60% rentals. See how it is, great ideas start to flow when you embrace our new B of S and their “you are responsible” get it fixed governance.


15

$13,000,000 bucks could build and staff tent treatment centers out in the desert which would: 1. remove them from their undesirable environment. 2. remove them from their drug dealers. 3. dry them out. 4. clean them up.

But this takes courage and California is not courageous,


14

“ build and staff tent treatment centers out in the desert “


So someone wants to build “camps” in the desert. I hear Manzanar  is available, perhaps above the gate the sign can read “the gop sets you free”.


-22

All those people who decided in 1942 on both sides are mostly dead and forgotten and we established the Manzanar National Historic Site so as to not forget.


Yet today some want to repeat history, mostly the party that want’s to reduce social security and other benefits. Imagine how many more citizens will become homeless if the gqp get’s their way. For some reason some people want others to suffer a little extra because, wtf.


In the long run temporary in the community housing (vs remote gulag prison) will get more citizens clean and back to working and save the most tax dollars for us all.


-10

The homeless shouldn’t be turned into a political issue. If you want to make it a political issue atleast be realistic about it and recognize the party in control as the problem gets worse each year while the budget increases to try and solve the homeless problem. Republicans haven’t had control in california for a couple of decades and under Newsom the homeless has increased each and every year he has been governor. Maybe if democrats reached across the aisle for new ideas to solve the problem california could try something else without dumping money into the problem that’s only getting worse. At some point the leaders in charge have got to come to the realization dumping money into a problem that gets worse year in and year out without a long term solution is unrealistic.


0

Or they could look into what the cost would be to use unused buildings like the old kmarts that closed throughout the county and use the money to turn them into a homeless resource center for housing, mental health services, rehab, therapy, etc. California just passed a bill last year that allows commercial buildings to be used for affordable housing.


“California Legislature Allows Housing Development on Commercial Property. On September 28, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 6 (“SB 6”) and Assembly Bill 2011 (“AB 2011”) into law (collectively, the “Bills”).Oct 26, 2022”


3

The old Grizzly academy in Paso is like a small town. It sat empty for years. It could have been turned into a small community. Kitchen, showers, different areas for different types. Mental here, families there etc.


17

13.4 million bucks to help 200 people?… are they completely out of their minds?…

Do you want to help homeless folks?… stop making it so easy to be homeless….


32

So more affordable housing?


-10

99.999% of the homeless, are not in their present situation because of the lack of “affordable housing”. It is the plethora of affordable drugs and alcohol.


8

I just spent 2 weeks in the northeast and did not see a single “homeless”. Maybe spend a dime and make a phone call, or send a free email to see what they have done with their drug addicts.


14

They’ve:

A. Put them in shelters at great cost.

B. They’ve frozen to death since thats what happens half the year in the Northeast.

C. They’ve come to California.


-1

If you read the recent homeless study that california recently did which was the largest ever done you would realize the majority of the homeless population are locals that grew up here not from out of state.


“But according to a recent UCSF study, at least ninety percent of those experiencing homelessness lived in California before losing their housing and 75% are in the same county they used to live in”


-4

$65K per person would go a LOOOOONG way in rebuilding and remodeling Dan DeVaul’s Sunny Acres. You know, the place where actual homeless get help? Unlike any city or county program thus far?


And why are we using a Santa Maria and San Francisco based organizations? Can anyone tell me how “Dignity Moves” has done ANYTHING about the horrendous Bay Area homeless invasion?


42

Of the 67k, about 65% goes into the bueracracy with the remainder actually going to help someone, so that’s really only about 24.5k per person for actual services.


21

Double that. This project will only house 80 of the 200‍♀️


0

That equates to $65,000 per person. This is an obscene amount of money. How will the recipients be selected? What will be the “overhead” a.located to each “project partners”?


49

I’ve paid all my taxes on time, have never gotten a dime from the government, followed all the rules now my government wants more from me so that they can give it away. I must be one-off the biggest fools in the country.


5

Actually only about 80 spaces so $167,500 per


0

You need to checkout what some call a suitcase home where it comes in a grate and fols out to make a small living space They use them overseas a lot. But probably won’t pass the strict housing rules here which is a shame


-18
1 2