Just a few days after opening an emergency shelter for displaced homeless in Lompoc, the city’s police chief called on its citizens to do more.
On Sept. 14, Police Chief Pat Walsh issued a statement that said 55 people had checked into the triage center at River Park. The center provides services to homeless individuals who formerly lived in the Santa Ynez Riverbed on the city’s eastern and northern edges.
Santa Barbara County’s departments of Behavioral Wellness and Public Health, as well as Social Services, Animal Control, and the Public Defender’s Office have been on hand to help the homeless transition into housing and social programs. Nonprofits the Good Samaritan Shelter, Planting the Seed, and Northern Santa Barbara County United Way’s Home for Good are also staffing the emergency shelter.
Walsh praised the county and nonprofits for their efforts during the process. However, more can be done, he said, and called on the community to help house some of the homeless at the center.
“Housing is in short supply and many of these individuals are desperate for housing,” Walsh added. “Many are older, some are veterans, and if given the chance they would be good tenants.”
Walsh noted that a lot of people in the triage center had some form of financial assistance for rent, whether it was through Social Security or U.S. Department of Housing and Development (HUD) vouchers.
“I would ask that the community search their hearts and consider opening their homes,” he said. “This is a hard choice, but if you find yourself in a position to do this, please consider. You may be the catalyst to helping someone find their footing.”
The triage center is currently taking donations for certain essential items. All donations should be brought to the Good Samaritan Shelter (2025 Sweeney Road, Lompoc) with a label “for triage center.”
Items highlighted by social workers were: small flashlights, batteries, feminine care products, gloves and stocking caps, new socks, and blankets.
The shelter is expected to be open through the month of September and potentially two months after that. It is unclear what services will be available for those that are unable to find housing by that time.
As for the cleanup of the riverbed itself, which Chief Walsh told the Sun consisted of “decades of debris,” the work is expected to take a while.
Walsh said community members had offered to help with the effort, but that the department declined to accept due to the “many hazards” in the riverbed.
“The amount of trash and debris is just too great,” he added.
–Spencer Cole
This article appears in Sep 20-27, 2018.