In California, homelessness is a familiar sight for many people.
In Santa Maria, the issue in at least one area appears to have intensified over the years.
“Approximately in the last three years the homeless situation has grown a lot, there were previously three or four tents before and now there’s way over 50 or 60,” Samuel Enriques a Santa Maria resident said.
People living near the Santa Maria riverbed have watched the encampment expand on the west side of the river bridge.
“Over the past few years, I've noticed it's gotten bigger," Sally Torris said. "And I noticed that there are more people walking the streets.”
While Pedro Becerra explains; “I used to always walk over there with my dogs but I don’t feel comfortable doing that anymore.”
Santa Maria City Officials tell me the complexity of the issue is aggravated by the riverbed's multiple property owners and jurisdictions and that the uncertainty about who is responsible has likely contributed to the encampment's growth and hindered effective intervention.
“We should all help each other," Torris said. "Whether you're a Democrat, Republican, independent. It doesn't make any difference. We're all people. We need to help each other and try to understand each other too.”
Collaborative outreach efforts are now underway between San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties to tackle the issue.
According to Santa Barbara County, both counties are working on a Memorandum of Understanding to streamline communication and coordination.
It would also help with things like ensuring clarity on shelter bed availability and ensuring equal commitment to maintaining the river bed up to environmental standards.
