A $10.5 million, state grant-funded housing community is nearing completion off Johnson Avenue in San Luis Obispo, designed to provide permanent supportive housing for people currently living along the Bob Jones Trail.
The Welcome Home Village includes 40 permanent housing units and 14 interim units. Each permanent unit features a kitchenette, bathroom, and space for a bed. The interim units will share a communal kitchen and bathroom, an intentional design choice meant to encourage a sense of community among residents.
Project Manager Margaret Shepard-Moore says the support services that come with the housing are just as important as the housing itself.
"The benefit of having permanent supportive housing is the supports that come with it," Shepard-Moore said. "Case management, medical navigation, counseling, and nursing, things of that nature that really help people get back up on their feet."
The project also has an environmental component. The housing units were constructed using 3D printing technology and recycled materials.
"The 3D printed aspects of the units are made from 60% durable recycled materials," Shepard-Moore said. "We estimate around 6 million water bottles have been kept out of landfills with this project."
Move-in is expected to begin in June. The Good Samaritan Shelter is overseeing outreach to people currently living on the Bob Jones Trail, as well as village operations after residents move in.
Director of Homeless Services Kirsten Cahoon says her team has been on the trail daily since October, working to build relationships with future residents.
"It's been a lot of relationship building, a lot of trust building, getting to know folks that are living on the Bob Jones Trail, just to develop the trust that they're going to need in order to trust moving into a project like this," Cahoon said. "So it has been incredibly successful."
When move-in day arrives, Cahoon says familiar faces will help ease the transition.
Once residents are settled, on-site programming will focus on helping them build skills and stability.
"Alongside recreational activities, we always have a day habilitation program that we offer," Cahoon said. "We offer a curriculum every day during the week where they can learn budgeting, we do crafts, we do cooking classes."
Neighbors have previously raised safety concerns about the site. Cahoon says cameras, security, and on-site staff will be in place to address those concerns.
"We are very adamant about being the best neighbor we can be," Cahoon said.
