The City of San Luis Obispo launched a survey from Sept. 1 to Sept. 30 for local residents to fill out regarding how the city has tackled the ongoing issue of homelessness. The results of the survey will be used to help create and launch the next Homelessness Strategic Response plan for 2027-2031.
The survey consists of 14 questions regarding resident information and their outlook on homelessness within SLO county. SLO has established the Homelessness Strategic Response plan and team since March 2023, but is seeking updated input and information to update their previous plan.Â
Based on SLO’s point-in-time count for 2026, a night dedicated to counting the full homeless population in the city, the number of homeless individuals has gone down by 22% in the last four years. The current count of those experiencing homelessness is 1,118. Out of these individuals, 452 are experiencing sheltered homelessness while 666 are experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
The City of SLO homelessness response manager, Daisy Wiberg, noted that an adjustment to the upcoming strategic plan will shift from the original two-year plan to a four-year plan, which is why input from the community will be a part of shaping the upcoming response plan.
Some of the key initiatives created in the last strategic plan were the Welcome Home Village project that brought 54 new interim and permanent affordable housing options, and the recent purchase of a Motel 6 in SLO on behalf of the Homekey grant from the state. The motel will be renovated into 79 permanent supportive housing units.Â
“We’ve really tried to focus our efforts on building more interim and permanent supportive housing units in the last few years and we’re seeing the effects and the impacts of that,” Wiberg said.
Wiberg explained that the main methods and solutions to reduce homelessness rates in SLO county are to provide affordable interim and permanent housing, as well as to focus on preventive efforts that target the root causes of homelessness before it happens, which is something they saw as common feedback from locals following their last strategic plan.Â
“Moving forward or with the next plan, we’re obviously wanting to get feedback from the community and our key stakeholders,” Wiberg said.
Getting community feedback and comments is the main way that Wiberg anticipates for the strategic plan to grow and lead to even more improvements. Key community involvement can be as simple as just completing the survey or volunteering around the city.Â
Opportunities to help with homelessness in the county include volunteering for CAPSLO, the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo, helping out at the 40 Prado Homeless Services Center or volunteering at any food services or homeless services center within the county.
“I always encourage folks to also volunteer for the Point-in-Time Count. It’s obviously only every other year, but it’s a really great way to actually get to know some of the folks experiencing homelessness in our community and learn more about the county and the city’s efforts to reduce homelessness,” Wiberg said.
The community survey on homelessness will be open until Sept. 30.