San Luis Obispo County officials conducted a meeting Wednesday evening to discuss an overview of the Welcome Home Village project which would bring 80 housing units for the homeless to one part of the city.
Community members came to the meeting with questions and voiced their concerns about the proposed project aimed at eliminating encampments and providing safe shelters for the homeless.
“How are you all going to define the success of this project and will neighborhood input be considered in the term of that success?” asked one community member.
San Luis Obispo County District 4 supervisor Jimmy Paulding assured residents that Welcome Home Village is about removing the encampments while also providing needed services.
“Obviously this project is focused on the city of San Luis Obispo and specifically the Bob Jones Encampment but the goal here is to eventually do outreach to everybody at every encampment and to offer them that bed and if they don’t take that bed, to clean up that encampment,” said Paulding. “It’s a dual-track.”
The 80-unit homeless assistance development is funded by a grant from the California Interagency Council on Homelessness and will cover the costs through June of 2026.
It will be located in a parking lot near the intersection of Bishop Street and Johnson Avenue.
Nearby residents expressed concerns about their potential new neighbors.
“We live very close by to where this proposed building is going to go,” said one community member. “We’ve lived there for many years and we have had many homeless in the area before. We were wondering what the security would be.”
“We have heard significant concern about who’s going to live here," said one panelist. "Who are these homeless individuals because it’s really hard to picture, right?
County officials told community members the proposed development would be monitored.
“Very strict rules with no drugs and alcohol are allowed onsite. If someone is still struggling with addiction we will work with them and try to get them connected with services.”
But some of the attendees weren't convinced.
“My husband and I walked down and it’s not safe,” said one community member. “When you relocate those people, how are we going to keep those people out of the creek?
Paulding says it's about balancing the needs of homeless individuals and families and making sure nearby residents feel safe and have access to public areas.
"We want our public spaces, our parks to be used for the kiddos and families. Not necessarily the full of encampments. Our mission as a local government from a county's standpoint from the cities that we're working with is to do both of those things, to compassionately outreach to the community and to ensure that we are providing that housing opportunity."
The project will be up for final approval at the Board of Supervisor’s meeting on May 21st.
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