Soledad shares plans for state encampment funding
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) - Governor Gavin Newsom announced two Monterey County cities have received two grants under the State of California's Encampment Resolution Funding program.
The City of Soledad received $4,726,963.50 while King City received a grant for $6,441,326.33, per the Governor's office.
The County of Monterey's funding for King City is going towards helping people who are experiencing homelessness and will be provided with interim housing at a local motel, and then within a year permanent housing solution with supportive services.
County officials said the project will be supported by a 50% match provided by the Central California Alliance on Health. City manager Steven Adams stated in a press release that the new funding will go towards a proposed permanent supportive housing project at Days Inn.
The funding for the City of Soledad will be used for community outreach for the homeless population and seeing their concerns will be heard and met.
The city says they plan to have 12 housing units on Los Coches Drive in the form of interim housing to help people get back on their feet.
"Los Coches will serve as an area where we're going to concentrate some of those units. But those units are interim housing. So it could be modular units, like a style of a mobile park," said Beatrice Trujillo.
Those 12 units will be an ideal location with several grocery stores within walking distance. However, with over 40 people living in the encampments, KION asked where that leaves the rest of them who will not be staying in the new units.
"We are also going to have an approach for motel vouchers this is what we submitted on the proposal. So that's another ten, shelter spaces. And then we have these units, in Los Coches," said Trujillo.
However, that still leaves over 20 people without housing. The city says they are working to secure city-owned permanent housing units for people.
"The liaison will help them be ready to secure that unit. And then in the process, we might also have incentives like helping them pay their rent gradually, like maybe at the beginning, we will have some subsidies until they're ready to pay," said Trujillo.
People living with family will be allowed to stay together in a unit. Showers and bathrooms will be on site, with a guard around the area. The city says its goal is to house at least 75% of the people living in the encampment.
The city says that people can still choose to stay in the encampment, but warns that it is on private property so they run the risk of getting kicked off or receiving trespassing charges.
There is still no set date for when people can start moving into the units, but the city says it will be by the end of this year.
For more information on this project, you can call the County of Monterey Homeless Services.
The City of Santa Cruz was also awarded a grant worth $4 million which the city said will support 20 interim housing units on the Housing Matters campus. It would also help with homeless outreach to 55 people living in Harvey West and Coral Street area camps.
