Officials gathered March 16 to mark the grand opening of Hope Village, a 94-unit interim supportive housing project designed to help people transition out of homelessness over a 6-12 month period. The community of tiny homes with supportive services is located at 2131 Southside Parkway, a formerly vacant parcel across the street from county’s Betteravia Government Center in Santa Maria. Some units will be set aside for particular groups including veterans, recently released hospital patients without homes, and former foster children needing help transitioning from the system. Santa Barbara County provided $1 million toward the $7.5 million in capital costs for the village and pledged $8.5 million for services needed to transform lives across Hope Village’s five years of operations. Partnering organizations include DignityMoves, Good Samaritan Shelter (which will provide 24/7 staffing), Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley, Dignity Health's Marian Regional Medical Center, The Balay Ko Family Foundation and the County of Santa Barbara. Hope Village follows another such project on Garden Street in downtown Santa Barbara. La Posada, a third village with 80 homes at 4500 Hollister Ave., could open as soon as April.
https://www.ksby.com/santa-maria/dignitymoves-celebrates-grand-opening-of-hope-village
https://www.noozhawk.com/new-village-ready-to-provide-shelter-hope-for-santa-maria-areas-homeless/
