The City of San Luis Obispo and People’s Self-Help Housing were awarded $19.5 million from the state to help reduce and prevent homelessness in the area.
On Friday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the latest round of Homekey grants.
One will fund the Calle Joaquin Homekey project — a collaboration between People's Self-help Housing and the City of San Luis Obispo that will convert the north Motel 6 into 76 permanent housing units.
City officials told KSBY, on average, there are between 385 and 482 people experiencing homelessness in the city since 2015.
According to the president and CEO of People’s Self-Help Housing, Kenneth Trigueiro, there's a long waitlist for affordable housing.
“We have such a crisis because there are not enough units and we have such demand. In our case,” Trigueiro said. “In San Luis Obispo County, we have about 10,000 households who are on our waitlist, so this is a great thing to do and they needed that housing yesterday, and we’re really happy that this could come to fruition pretty soon.”
The income level to be eligible for low-income housing is based on the local area.
“Primarily there's an income qualifier and so what we do we look at the median income here and we’re trying to serve people who are making below that,” said Trigueiro.
According to the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, the median average income for one person in San Luis Obispo is about $81,000.
Some hope the city can help those struggling with homelessness seek shelter.
“I hope they take them off the roads,” said one San Luis Obispo resident. “I see them off the freeway walking along the side of the road. I guess just find them a good place to sleep at night.”
Former Morro Bay resident, Timothy Stoffle, tells us housing has gotten quite expensive in San Luis Obispo.
He says he moved away temporarily for a job opportunity and had trouble affording a house when he came back.
“I got a job offer up in Crescent City to take the boat up to West Port Washington to go salmon fishing and when I went up there I was expecting to make really good money, come back down, and have my own place, to be able to afford my own place," he said. "But unfortunately, my boss ended up passing and I didn’t make the money I thought I was going to make so now I am stuck in a position right now. I’m homeless. It’s a bummer.”
Trigueiro says work on the permanent supportive housing development is expected to start sometime this year, with completion expected in early 2025
