| (Jan. 12) we took another big step forward to helping our homeless neighbors get off the streets, and back on their feet, breaking ground on the third DignityMoves interim housing community, La Posada. Our crews are on track to finish this project and move the first residents in by this April.
This public-private partnership is the best of what we can do when we come together as a community. Like the Santa Barbara Street Village and Hope Village in Santa Maria, La Posada will have on-site services to help those coming off the streets, including mental healthcare, addiction services, career counseling, and caseworkers to help residents get “document ready” for permanent housing.
We know this strategy is already working, as evidenced by the 60% decrease in veteran homelessness throughout our County last year. But we also know we can’t stop here. There are over 80 people living at our temporary shelters who have received services, and are ready to move out to permanent housing – but there is no permanent place for them to go. The good news is that we have over 300 units of permanent housing under development across the County that will be a lifeline for those residents.
In order to continue this progress, we must continue to have the funding to make a difference – and critical to that is having accurate counts of where people who are living unsheltered are. You can help by volunteering for the Point In Time count this month, on Wednesday, January 24th. Click here to learn more or sign up to volunteer. |
