Nearly a year after a state-funded cleanup cleared large homeless encampments from the Santa Maria Riverbed, residents say the area remains a daily challenge.
Santa Maria resident Samuel Aguilera, who has run along the river trail for years, said he no longer feels as comfortable using the path.
“I feel unsafe running sometimes just because of … I don’t know, the people there or the state of them,” Aguilera said. “I have noticed a downgrade from the quality and the environment of it due to the homelessness and encampment.”
In October 2023, Santa Barbara County received Encampment Resolution Program funding from the state to address the large camps. San Luis Obispo County partnered by providing outreach and animal services. According to Linda Belch, SLO County’s deputy director of adult and homeless services, the project wrapped up last fall.
“[We] coordinated with Santa Barbara County to resolve all of the encampments, and I believe all of them were resolved as of November of ’24,” Belch said, explaining since then, she has not recieved a complaint about the area.
Still, law enforcement continues to respond. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office reports that since July, deputies have responded to 45 calls for service in the riverbed and issued 13 citations and arrests, mostly for trespassing and narcotics.
Santa Maria city officials say Rangers patrol the riverbed daily, even without a finalized memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SLO County.
“The Rangers are out there monitoring the riverbed on a daily basis.’ said Chuen Wu, assistant city manager for Santa Maria, “If it’s within Santa Maria jurisdictions we’ll take care of it.”
Nonprofit providers are also playing a key role. Nathan Lenski, assistant director of homeless services at Good Samaritan Shelter, said outreach teams are working across the region, including in Santa Maria, Lompoc, and Santa Barbara.
“Our outreach teams are down there every day working with different clients to connect them to our shelters, preferably, and ultimately to housing,” Lenski said.
As winter approaches, counties and service providers are preparing to open warming centers and expand emergency shelter options. But leaders acknowledge the long-term struggle is tied to resources.
“Unfortunately, just like every other jurisdiction, there is not enough homeless services funding to provide the amount of services we would like to provide,” Belch said.
For residents like Aguilera, the hope is that efforts can make the trail feel safe again.
“I would love to bring my family here one day without having the thought of something potentially happening,” he said.
