It was a $2.5 million guided tour of a homeless encampment located just off Hollister Avenue near Santa Barbara County’s Juvenile Hall — cleaned out but hardly abandoned — coupled with a look at where many of those displaced by such cleanup efforts might soon go. In this case, that would be the former Super 8 motel in Goleta.
The $2.5 million in question comes from a three-year state grant to clean up as many as 53 homeless camps along the Highway 101 corridor throughout Santa Barbara County; the tour itself was sparked by the ceremonial arrival of Lourdes Castro Ramirez, secretary of the state agency responsible for dispensing that grant, the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency.
Among the many people attending was County Supervisor Joan Hartmann, who said she was struck by how much cleaner and well-kept the homeless encampment was after the county’s initial cleanup blitz. Work crews not only hauled away tons of rubbish, she said, but they also educated the people remaining on how to better dispose of their trash and keep the camp more organized and sanitary. It seems to have made a difference, she said. Hartmann noted the site was much cleaner and the bikes — previously a jumble of frames and tires — were neatly sequestered in one place.