Chinatown cleanup continues Monday

UPDATE 3/28/2016 6:20 PM:

Another week, another sweep. On Monday, cleanup crews tackled a main thoroughfare in Chinatown. Soledad Street is home to Dorothy’s Place and the Victory Mission. Some of the residents who did stay relocated to other parts of Chinatown.

“Half of it is sad in a way because people shouldn’t be shuffled like this, they should be reformed, actually,” Terrie Goins, a Chinatown resident, said. “One thing that’s bad is there are too many people that do drugs and alcohol in the area.”

These sweeps are happening as the city of Salinas takes charge of handing out grant money to combat homelessness in Monterey and San Benito counties. In other communities, the county or nonprofit agencies decide where the money goes. City officials say Salinas is the first city in the state to do the decision-making, and it’s because of a change in the program.

Goins and her fianc are currently living out of their car. They, like many others, are waiting for housing. There’s a plan in the works.

The city of Salinas has been receiving Emergency Solution Grant money for several years now. Soon, the city will be distributing grant money to two counties. The grant is $600,000 for the first year and $300,000 for every year after that. These ESG funds are supposed to provide rapid rehousing, street outreach, homelessness prevention and emergency shelter.

“The grant funds aren’t for the city of Salinas specifically, it’s to address homelessness in the counties of San Benito and Monterey,” said Megan Hunter, Salinas community development director. “And so this is really highly unusual. We’re the only jurisdiction in the state that is actually taking on the Emergency Solutions Grant for the counties.”

Communities and nonprofit agencies will have to apply to the city of Salinas and go through a competitive grant process to make sure they qualify under the guidelines. Even if the money doesn’t stay in Salinas, it could have an impact.

“If they’re in Monterey County, San Benito County, they’ll move around and probably end up here anyway,” said Anastacia Wyatt, Salinas housing planning manager. “We are helping ourselves, I feel, and we’re also helping the people who need the assistance, wherever they are.”

ORIGINAL POST:

Crews got an early start Monday morning as the Chinatown cleanup continues.

What used to be Salinas’ largest homeless encampment is slowly looking more and more barren.

The city gave notice of the cleanup 15 days in advance of their initial work.

A recently passed ordinance does allow peopleto camp on the streets and sidewalks between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. But hundreds of people who used to live there are upset and worried about where they’ll go.

For years, the city has been trying to figure out how to address the safety and health concerns at Chinatown. With two low-income housing units slated for the area, city leaders decided they couldn’t wait any longer for a permanent cleanup.

KION’s Mariana Hicks will have more on this developing story tonight.