The City of San Luis Obispo hosted its first-ever Homelessness Response Forum as a part of the city's Homelessness Response Strategic Plan.
As the city's Homelessness Response Manager, Daisy Wiberg said, “Solving the issue of homelessness is complex.”
For a few hours, community members heard from local organizations and a panel of six city and county leaders which included police, fire, the city attorney, CAPSLO, and county offices.
“We answered questions and helped provide information and resources and really empowering our community to play a role in how we're addressing homelessness," Wiberg said.
Homelessness response on a collaborative scale across multiple organizations is a newer concept and one that has only been implemented in the past two to three years with the creation of the county's Homeless Services Division and the city's Homelessness Response Manager position.
“They are relatively new divisions, new roles, and it's a new approach that the city and the county are taking born out of seeing how much of a priority this issue is for our community,” Wiberg said.
“We were patching things," SLOPD Lt. Aaron Schafer explained about their old way of doing things. "We know now that that wasn't working very well.”
But there’s still work to be done. In 2022, the Point-in-Time Count of unhoused individuals in the City of San Luis Obispo was 385. In 2024, it was 512.
Longtime downtown resident and moderator of Wednesday’s panel, John Townsend, was more optimistic that the number can get to zero.
“It's a surmountable challenge. Even if one person is experiencing that kind of a life, that's one too many,“ he said.
“In the short, I think we need to expect zero, at least strive for that," Fire Chief Todd Tuggle said.
According to Wiberg, the Homelessness Response Forum will be an annual event as the city looks to continue its partnerships and collaborations with the community.
