La Posada Village will house individuals living in encampments near the 101 freeway and railroad tracks in the nearby area.
The new community will have 80 rooms, provide 24/7 security, intensive case management for each resident, 3 meals a day, and mental and physical health care services and transportation.
The aims is to close the gap between living outdoors and housing stability, by offering so-called tiny homes as well as support services, says Jack Lorenz from Dignity Moves - who have partnered with Santa Barbara County on the project.
"We operate on what I call the four P's," said Lorenz. "We offer everyone a private room with a door that locks. They can bring their possessions, they can bring their pets, and then in exchange for giving them all of those amenities, folks have to agree to work with an intensive case manager to come up with an exit plan that moves them on to stable housing within 6 to 12 months"
Lorentz says the long-term goal is to get residents into permanent housing and this is the first step which is good for the individuals as well as the whole community.
"We are in a position where if we continue with the rate that we're doing right now to get to what we refer to as functional zero for unsheltered homelessness in the county," said Lorenz. "This is - in addition to being a humanitarian issue - a public health and safety issue."
La Posada is a public-private collaboration between DignityMoves, the County of Santa Barbara, and Good Samaritan Shelter, the service provider and operator.
