To date, 12 of the top 50 homeless individuals targeted by Santa Barbara City Hall for focused assistance — by virtue of the high service volume they generate — have managed to find shelter with assistance from a $2.2 million, multi-agency homeless program funded by state homeless grants. Of those, some moved in with families or friends; how long they will stay is not clear.
After being on the streets just over a month, outreach workers with what’s called S.B. Connect Home have contacted 14 of the 50 most vulnerable. The program, funded as part of a state initiative to address chronic homelessness, brings together for the first time Santa Barbara police, Cottage Hospital, and a crew of three outreach workers run by CityNet, an Orange County–based nonprofit.
There have been some missteps; the outreach nurse promised by Cottage to perform co-response duties with city restorative cops has yet to be hired. While Cottage has begun recruiting, there’s a statewide shortage of nurses.