A plan to create Hope Village, an interim temporary shelter in Santa Maria for homeless residents, received the approval of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday for what it called transformative and historic.

The board unanimously approved several items, including a lease and development management agreement for DignityMoves Hope Village, a 94-cabin community for homeless residents on a vacant site at the Santa Barbara County Betteravia Government Center. 

“The level of despair that exists on the streets needs to stop, and this project is going to go a long way towards that,” Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson said. 

Both Nelson and Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino have reached out to neighbors, businesses, Santa Maria city leaders, county employees and sports leagues using nearby fields to explain the proposal and listen to concerns while learning about fears and existing problems.

The project could make a big dent in ending the large number of encampments in the Santa Maria Valley, Nelson added.

“I think this is something that might be transformative that people are going to be looking at not just in our county but in our state and in our country if we’re able to do the things that we hope we can here,” Nelson said. 

The community will hold the county accountable if problems arises, Lavagnino said, adding that he appreciated that the first effort to create a similar project in Santa Barbara served as an example for the proposal for Santa Maria.

He shared about recently seeing a group of homeless residents taking shelter from the rain in front of businesses less than two blocks from the Betteravia Government Center. 

“The impacts are already there. I just think it’s incumbent upon us to do something,” Lavagnino said, adding that the board is committed to fighting the status quo.

County leaders and their partners are committed to making Hope Village successful, he added.

“It may fail, but it’s not going to be from a lack of people putting 100% commitment to it, so historic day for the board,” Lavagnino said. 

Hope Village will include cabins for individuals and couples plus will allow people to keep their pets and possessions.

Entrance will be off Southside Parkway, but a fence will screen the village. 

Residents must follow a number of guidelines with curfews in place along with an exit plan for finding permanent housing. 

Specifically, 54 cabins will primarily serve chronically homeless individuals and couples. 

Ten cabins will house transitional-age youth ages 18 to 24, many of whom are aging out of the foster system without a place to land. 

Another 30 cabins will provide recuperative/respite care, which allows individuals experiencing homelessness to have a safe place to rest and recover after being in the hospital or dealing with medical issues.

The innovative public-private collaboration will involve what Lavaganino called “a dream team” — Good Samaritan Shelters, Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley, Dignity Health’s Marian Regional Medical Center, DignityMoves, community philanthropy, and the county.

The project’s cost is $6.4 million with funding from the county, Dignity Health and community donations.

“I think this is going to impact so many lives in a positive manner, and we’ve really seen how well it’s working in Santa Barbara. We’re very excited to partner with DignityMoves and everyone to bring it to Santa Maria,” said Kirsten Cahoon, director of shelter operations for Good Samaritan. 

Hope Village could be serving homeless residents by this fall, according to some estimates. 

Nelson also called on his colleagues to commit to Hope Village existing at the site for only five years after neighbors expressed concern it would remain forever.  

A local church has reached out to host the village in the future so the burden and need can be spread to other neighborhoods in the Santa Maria Valley. 

“The burden shouldn’t fall on just a single community,” he added.