County allocates $7M to local nonprofits for homelessness response and affordable housing

Welcome Home Village (WHV) Project approved to provide house 80 individuals

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — On Tuesday, May 21, the County of San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors unanimously approved $7.66 million across three funding sources for affordable housing and homelessness response efforts.

“The County of San Luis Obispo is committed to sustaining our homelessness response efforts while also pursuing new, evidence-based opportunities to prevent and end homelessness,” said Administrative Services Manager for the Homeless Services Division George Solis. “By supporting both immediate needs and long-term solutions, we aim to create a more stable and supportive environment for all residents of San Luis Obispo County.”

The Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) fund for Pismo Beach aims to support individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness by addressing housing-related needs. Allocated by the California Department of Housing and Community Development and managed by the County of San Luis Obispo, $414,190 in PLHA funds were distributedas follows: $363,750 to 5Cities Homeless Coalition for their Emergency Shelter Program and $50,439 for their Rapid Re-Housing and Homeless Prevention Program.

The Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) Program funds efforts to prevent and end homelessness,administered by the California Interagency Council on Homelessness and the County of San Luis Obispo. The $4,652,793 in HHAP funds were allocated as follows: $1,237,137 to 5Cities Homeless Coalition for their Emergency Shelter Program, $615,655 for the Countywide Transitional-Age Youth Program, $1.4 million to Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo for the Prado Homeless Services Center, $1.2 million to Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo for North County Permanent Supportive and Shelter Services, $100,000 to People’s Self-Help Housing for the Calle Joaquin Homekey Project, and $100,000 to Restorative Partners, Inc. for The Path Forward Project.

Additionally, $2.6 million in Senate Bill 1090 funds were committed to People’s Self-Help Housing for the Calle Joaquin Homekey Project, supporting affordable housing in response to the decommissioning of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant.

Additional details on these grant allocations and future funding opportunities may be found on the County of San Luis Obispo’s website at slocounty.gov/HomelessServicesGrants.

Also approved during the May 21 meeting was the Welcome Home Village (WHV) Project, consisting of 46 permanent supportive residential housing units and 34 interim supportive housing residential units located at the corner of Johnson and Bishop streets in the City of San Luis Obispo (SLO). The project is meant to reduce homelessness along the Bob Jones Trail encampment in SLO and will have the ability to house 80 individuals.

Supervisor Dawn Ortiz Legg recused herself from the site due to living in close proximity to the project site.

Many residents spoke out against the project’s location but some were still in favor of the project in its entirety.

Due to funding requirements, the project can only be located at county-owned locations near the Bob Jones Trail. The chosen location at the corner of Bishop and

Johnson was deemed ideal to the county due to its adjacency to the San Luis Obispo County Health Agency Campus.

“I won’t be supporting this project today,” said Supervisor Debbie Arnold. “I understand the need for this.”

She expressed that the project is being rushed and the proposed area is already too dense.

The Welcome Home Village Project was approved with a 3-1 vote, with Arnold dissenting.