The County and the City of San Luis Obispo are partnering to reduce homeless encampments.
“We’re the most pristine place in the state and it’s a crime that we have so much homelessness,” said Becky Jorgeson, Hope’s Village SLO Founder & President.
San Luis Obispo is the type of community where many dream of retiring, but for some, the rising cost of housing is pushing those dreams out of reach.
“All we want is housing. I want to retire one day!” Jorgeson said.
Becky Jorgeson is a long-time advocate for those experiencing homelessness.
“I lived out at Sunny Acres for three years and I got to know that a lot of the people are just like you and me. They’re not all drug addicts, they’re not all alcoholics. There’s a lot that want to improve their lives,” Jorgeson added.
The Bob Jones Trail has been identified as an area at-risk for flooding and fire danger — adding to the urgency of relocating those in encampments along the trail.
“$13.4 million from the Encampment Resolution Fund that comes from the State of California is going to be used to address the Bob Jones Bike Trail encampment area,” said Suzie Freeman, County of San Luis Obispo Homeless Services Division Communications Program Manager.
The money will also help fund the construction of an 80-unit non-congregate housing facility called the Welcome Home Village.
“This [area] behind the Department of Social Services Headquarters on South Higuera will be the future home of the Welcome Home Village project," Freeman said.
The parking lot will soon be transformed into a housing project with 34 interim shelter units and 36 permanent supportive housing units.
“Our team, in collaboration with the Good Samaritan Shelter, will be conducting very intentional outreach and so what that looks like is building trust and relationships with the individuals who are encamped on the Bob Jones Bike Trail,” said Daisy Wiberg, City of San Luis Obispo Homelessness Response Manager.
Those involved in the project say the Welcome Home Village aligns directly with the countywide plan to address homelessness as well as the city’s homelessness response strategic plan.
“So we’re excited to see the lines of effort that were outlined in both of those plans coming to fruition in both of these projects,” Wiberg said.
According to the city, San Luis Obispo County currently has the third largest percentage of unsheltered individuals nationwide compared to other communities of its size.
