SLO County offers remaining 10 homeless at safe parking site $60,000

April 30, 2024

By KAREN VELIE

On the day the remaining 10 homeless people were to leave the safe parking site off Highway 1 near the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, the county agreed to give the group $60,000 and an extra week to find somewhere to go. The site is slated to close on May 6 at 5 p.m.

The county had planned to turnoff or close all services at the site, including restrooms, showers, trash, fencing, security and food delivery services on April 29. Following the closure, the plan was to move remaining vehicles into storage.

Established in 2021 as a temporary safe parking site during the pandemic, the county began taking steps last year to close the site.

On Oct. 4, county officials held a meeting with individuals sleeping at the safe parking site and offered them $1,000 each and additional resources if they moved out by the end of the year. Some individuals said the funds would be enough to cover their move, while others said it would not be sufficient.

However, in January, attorneys representing the Homeless Union of San Luis Obispo filed a restraining order asking the court to stop the proposed closure.

On two occasions, the judge temporarily restrained officials from closing the site.

On April 23, a Homeless Union attorney asked the county to extend the injunction for six months, or agree to pay for hotel rooms for the remaining residents for the next six months. The judge denied the plaintiffs request for a six-month injunction.

At a press conference on Monday, Homeless Union attorney Anthony Prince voiced concerns that people, companies and nonprofits are “profiting from the oppression” of homeless individuals. He said they plan to file a lawsuit over failures to help the homeless find housing.

In 2021, the county allotted $45,000 a month to manage the site, a portion of which was paid to Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo (CAPSLO) for case management, while the SLO County Department of Social Services was paid for oversight.

However, a San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury report last summer called out SLO County Department of Social Services and CAPSLO for failing to accomplish tasks they were paid to perform at the county’s safe parking site and for refusing to hand over records.

Multiple members of the safe parking community contend CAPSLO’s failures hampered their ability to move into housing. For example, CAPSLO was paid to help residents register their vehicles, a contracted service CAPSLO allegedly failed to perform.

The grand jury found that those managing the site were unsuccessful at helping the majority of its participant households successfully transition to permanent housing. With a transition rate of 14%, the county safe parking site falls well below the median rehousing rate of 40% found in a 2021 nationwide study of 43 safe parking programs, according to the grand jury report.