Homeless

Plans for more affordable, supportive housing in San Luis Obispo County are underway, and the project may signal an end to a south county skirmish over where to place shelter for the homeless. The nonprofit affordable housing developer Peoples' Self-Help Housing (PSHH) met with Pismo Beach officials in September to negotiate a possible location in the city. On Tuesday, the nonprofit announced it had gone into escrow on a new site.

On this week’s Issues & Ideas: the state's public health agency has urged Californians to stop vaping immediately, days after Governor Newsom signed an executive order aimed at curbing vaping among youth. 

The number of homeless people in San Luis Obispo County increased this year. A recent report from the county’s social services department revealed the number rose by more than 30 percent in 2019, compared to two years ago. A group of people are hoping to help lower the numbers, by trying to create a village of tiny homes to house a portion of the county’s homeless, but there are still hurdles to overcome.

$5.5 million dollars was awarded to San Luis Obispo County homeless agencies and organizations this week. It came from a pool of hundreds of millions in state grants offered to help house the homeless and create services for homeless youth in counties across California. At Tuesday’s board of supervisors meeting, many in attendance were excited about the generous new funding opportunities, but many others weren’t happy with where the money may be spent in south San Luis Obispo County.

San Luis Obispo County officials, service providers, non-profits and residents gathered Wednesday to discuss what to do with millions of dollars in state funds, aimed at supporting the county’s homeless population. But the meeting became a passionate debate between recognizing a need for more homeless services, and concern over where to put them, particularly a shelter proposed in South County.

A comprehensive study of the California State University System, released in January, found eleven percent of students were homeless one or more times in 2017. This percentage was slightly higher among San Luis Obispo’s Cal Poly students, at 12.3 percent. Students end up homeless for a number of reasons; the lack of financial resources usually tops the list. But in this story, we meet two Cal Poly students who are choosing to be homeless to save their money for other uses. 

San Luis Obispo County has a significant homeless population, many of whom own pets. A program offered by Cal Poly veterinarian students helps many of these pets receive health care. 

January’s extreme rainfall — though a welcome blessing for many— posed a serious problem for San Luis Obispo county’s homeless community. 

The recent closures of several recycling centers in San Luis Obispo County are putting a financial and time strain on members of the area's homeless population who regularly depend on the money earned by cashing in those California Redemption Value (CRV) cans and bottles.

Jessica Li, Executive Director of SafeHouse in San Francisco talks about the tragic life of homeless prostitutes, often dependent on drug habits, years of abuse, violence, incest, and scorned by family and society.

Li explains how SafeHouse serves as a harbor of refuge. And the women are guided through counseling, nutrition education, money management, computer competency, and vocational guidance classes. 

Teresa Stephens, owner of the Lubbock, Texas Cast Iron Grill recounts her fear of the homeless. She confronted her phobia and wound up embracing the homeless and made major sacrifices to feed those in need. Join correspondent Tom Wilmer at the Cast Iron Grill in downtown Lubbock as Teresa shares her poignant tale of personal sacrifice that ultimately enriched and transformed her life through serving the homeless.  

Phillip Cooley saw opportunity in a 30,000 square-foot abandoned, derelict printing plant in downtown Detroit’s Westside Corktown neighborhood.

Cooley purchased the foreclosed building for $100,000 in 2011 with a vision to provide low-cost commercial incubator workspaces for startups that could not afford market-rate workspaces, along with small businesses struggling to grow on limited budgets.