ECHO shelter in Paso Robles adds 20 beds, just as temperatures start to drop
With cold weather on the way, the El Camino Homeless Organization will soon welcome more homeless clients into its Paso Robles shelter than ever, adding 20 beds to the facility.
According to ECHO director of operations and development Austin Solheim, the beds will be added to ECHO’s existing shelter space in a converted Motel 6, which is also home to a Project Homekey affordable rental unit project owned by the Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo County.
The SLO County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a $813,920 budget adjustment for the expansion, appropriating the money from an existing funding pool granted by Senate Bill 1090, according to the most recent Board of Supervisors agenda.
“There was always going to be this addition of rooms at one point, once (HASLO’s) rooms were 100% completed,” Solheim said. “We have been patiently waiting for this potential opportunity.”
Solheim said plans to add the 20 beds have been in the works for around a year, but the source of funding wasn’t identified until the most recent Board of Supervisors meeting.
The beds will be placed two to a room in the complex’s 10 remaining rooms, using the last space in the building, he said.
With the additional beds, ECHO’s Paso Robles shelter now has a capacity of 70 beds, which will all operate on ECHO’s 90-day emergency shelter program that uses highly individualized case management to connect clients to housing, Solheim said.
The rooms finished final construction around two weeks ago, meaning the funds will be used to pay for remaining construction costs and more case workers to help clients, Solheim said.
The funding also covers the cost to keep the rooms open, running and staffed for the next three years, he said.
“This is 20 beds that we’re able to do really quickly, and for a very low price point,” Solheim said.
Solheim said he expects the rooms to open to clients in around a month, once the remaining case managers have been hired.
He said it was important to get the units ready before the coming rise in demand as winter advances and temperatures drop.
“We are grateful to the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors for their support and belief in our mission,” ECHO CEO Wendy Lewis said in a news release. “The additional shelter beds will allow us to continue our efforts to reduce homelessness in our community and provide much-needed assistance to those who are experiencing this crisis.”
This story was originally published November 3, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
