Housing Assessments at Showers of Blessings Site on Thursdays from 11am to 1pm

This fall, 59 people living on the streets or in shelters will have a new home at Buena Tierra, the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara’s (HASBARCO) Permanent Supportive Housing development located in Old Town Goleta. The Housing Authority is accepting applications through Santa Barbara County’s Coordinated Entry System. The Coordinated Entry System verifies eligibility for housing programs and assists in matching persons experiencing homelessness to housing and services. To make it easier for potential applicants, a site is open in Goleta where people can go in person and start the housing assessment process. The site is located at the Showers of Blessings center at St. Athanasius Church (300 S. Sumida Gardens) on Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 

City of Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte said “We are heartened to learn that this October the transformation of the former Super 8 Hotel into Buena Tierra will be complete. We are also pleased that people experiencing homelessness in Goleta can access a Coordinated Entry System site to be connected to services.”

Buena Tierra is located at 6021 Hollister Avenue and is a 60-unit permanent supportive housing development for people experiencing chronic homelessness, homelessness and homeless youth or youth at risk of homelessness. It will include one unit to house an onsite property manager, plus five existing units that will be converted to community space in which a robust offering of services will be provided.

• Thirty-six units are reserved for persons experiencing chronic homelessness. Chronic homelessness is defined as an individual with a permanent disability and has been homeless for at least 12 months.
• Fifteen units are reserved for youth (persons ages 18-24) that are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness

For more information on the Coordinated Entry System and housing process for Buena Tierra or other housing opportunities, please call a Housing Specialist at 805-519-1302 to speak to someone in English, or 805-518-2679 to speak to someone in Spanish. For more information on the Coordinated Entry System, go to https://www.countyofsb.org/447/Coordinated-Entry-System.

To learn more about the City of Goleta’s response to homelessness, contact Chuck Flacks, Homelessness Services Coordinator, at cflacks@cityofgoleta.org.

Background

Buena Tierra will be run by the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara, which received almost $19 million in State Funding for the project. The funding, announced on April 13, 2022, by Governor Gavin Newsom, is a part of $70 million in State awards for six new Homekey projects throughout California.

This state funding includes rental subsidy and operating costs. Generous additional funding has been reserved for this development by the County of Santa Barbara and City of Goleta. Under recent State law (AB 140 and AB 2162), supportive housing projects funded through the Homekey program are automatically deemed consistent and in conformity with local General Plan and zoning requirements and allowed by right as a permitted use.