In the late 1960s, a small group of people wanted to help their neighbors with low-income housing issues in San Luis Obispo County. Founded in 1970, People’s Self-Help Housing has built affordable housing across the Central Coast over the last six-plus decades, most recently in Buellton.
People’s Self Help opened up pre-applications for 89 one-, two-, and three-bedroom units in the Buellton Garden Apartments on Jan. 13 at 9 a.m. These apartments are part of the 60 rental properties across the Central Coast, according to a press release.
CEO and President of People’s Self-Help Housing Ken Trigueiro said the organization was created to fulfill the “community-based” response to local housing needs from different communities such as veterans, low-income families, farmworkers and their families, and people experiencing homelessness.
“We have a lot of people in all walks of life,” Trigueiro said. “In Buellton, we’re focused on trying to provide housing for families.”
The organization aims to serve individuals and families making no more than 80 percent of the area median income, according to Triguerio. For the Buellton apartments, the eligibility is at or below 50 percent of median income with 24 units set aside for eligible farmworker households making 30 to 50 percent of median income, Triguiero said.
“These are frontline essential workers,” he said. “They’re missing out in terms of having affordable housing or good quality housing.”
The Garden Apartments will be the 10th People’s Self-Help development with an on-site learning center, according to Triguerio. A K-8 after-school support program will be available with teachers to help students with homework, college preparation, and other educational needs.
“A lot of times, we find that they’re [the students] even ahead of their class having stayed in the program for a period of time,” Trigueiro said.
Every year, about 400 students participate in People’s Self-Help’s on-site educational programs. Part of those programs include a college club and scholarships, which Trigueiro said have been successful.
“We found that our students are the first ever in their family to go to college,” Trigueiro said. “Parents aren’t necessarily equipped from their own experience to help guide their kids.”
Free supportive services will also be provided to residents of the Buellton Garden Apartments, including licensed clinical social workers to help families through financial and personal issues, according to Trigueiro.
“We want to make sure that we’re not only providing affordable housing, but opportunities to address anything else that may be going on,” he said. “It really started with having someplace where you can come home to and be safe and secure, and the family is stabilized in terms of not having to pay almost all of their income on their housing.”
Find pre-applications for the Buellton Garden Apartments at pshh.org/BGA in English and Spanish. The development is located at 10 and 12 McMurray Road in Buellton.
Highlights
• Opera San Luis Obispo is putting on “Behind Barbed Wire Redux – A Glimpse at Central Coast Japanese American Life during WWII” at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts in Arroyo Grande on Jan. 23 from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. The performance will include a live orchestra, band, guest performers, video, poetry, and 1940s swing music and narration to provide a multimedia experience of the complex history of Japanese Americans in the internment camps and incarceration during World Word II, commemorating its impact on the Central Coast. Tickets are available at clarkcenter.org.
• Caltrans invites residents who live in and around Guadalupe to attend a public meeting on Jan. 21 to discuss a series of upcoming road projects in the area. The meeting will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Guadalupe City Hall, 918 Obispo St. Spanish translation will be available, and doors open at 5:15 p.m. Residents will be able to ask questions and participate in conversations about the area’s projects, including work to create curb ramps and drainage systems along Highway 166 and add a traffic signal at the state Route 1/166 and state Route 166/Obispo Street intersection. The projects are estimated to be completed between spring 2028 and fall 2029. For a list of projects under discussion, visit dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-5/district-5-current-projects/guadalupe-area-projects.
Reach New Times intern Fiona Hastings at ntintern@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in January 15 – January 22, 2026.