Santa Barbara County is participating in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 100-Day Challenge, which began July 6, to reduce homelessness by clearing out encampments along freeways and railroad corridors.
Using the challenge as an opportunity to launch a $2.5 million grant from the State of California Encampment Resolution Funding, the county’s goal is to move at least 20 unhoused people into shelter and 20 unhoused people into permanent housing before the 100 days conclude on Oct. 14.
The grant provides funding for outreach teams specifically focused on encampments along transit corridors, as well as for additional interim housing.
“While more people are slipping into homelessness than ever before, we are also making the strongest effort in our history to bring people in from the streets and encampments,” First District Supervisor Das Williams said in a statement.
“I believe that the 100-Day Challenge, in conjunction with our other work, can help us bring services to and house more individuals than last year.”
According to county homeless assistance program manager Kimberlee Albers, a countywide team will map out encampments along transportation corridors and create a by-name list of inhabitants in order for outreach workers to enroll them in services.
Additionally, the county, Caltrans and Union Pacific are working together with several community organizations and partners to meet the challenge’s goals.
The county is asking for the community’s support for the challenge, however, especially from landlords who are willing to take in unhoused people.
Landlord incentives — such as financial incentives, rental subsidies, case managers and other community resources — are available.
“Turning a blind eye to encampments along transit corridors is neither safe nor humane,” Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson said. “It puts the general public at risk and allows some of our most vulnerable community members to further risk victimization.
“Encampment resolution through shelters, housing and intensive case management is the only solution for our state and community to turn the tide on homelessness.”
This is the county’s third 100-day challenge to reduce homelessness, with the first one in 2020 addressing homeless youth, and another one in 2021 focusing on homeless veterans.
In 2020, the county exceeded its goal of housing 50 homeless youth when it housed 52, and in 2021, the goal was to house 75 veterans, which was achieved just after the 100-day mark.
According to Lucille Boss, the county’s encampment response coordinator, nine unhoused people have been moved into a temporary shelter and three have moved into permanent housing.
Boss said that the first 50 days of the challenge typically involve participating partners getting to know each other and coordinating a plan, while the momentum tends to pick up in the last third of the challenge.
The model for the 100-day challenges comes from Re!Institute, formerly known as Rapid Results Institute, which provides a template for the challenges to create a sense of urgency.
“They push you to create a goal for yourself that feels unreasonable,” Boss said. “As long as they keep offering (the challenges) to us, we’ll keep taking them.”
She said the challenge provides motivation, accountability and a model to get the work done, with weekly meetings, midpoint reviews and different work streams to achieve the goals.
Near the end of the 100-day challenge, Boss added, everyone comes together for a “what’s next” workshop, where the challenge will be discussed, and the participating partners will determine what can be taken from the challenge to sustain the momentum.
For example, the 2021 veterans challenge led to the county being more involved in the Veterans Collaborative, as well as more regular case conferences specific to homeless veterans.
“What I’m really excited about (with this challenge) … is that everybody is coming to the table,” Boss said. “Everybody that we need is showing up, and we so appreciate that.”
These challenges are providing momentum for the county and its partners to finally execute ideas that have been going around, Boss said, and she expects some of the sustainability efforts to come from the challenge will include monthly check-ins with partners.
— Noozhawk staff writer Serena Guentz can be reached at sguentz@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.