E Street Encampment Project

The city council on Monday unanimously approved the terms and funding of a $2,446,500 state grant that will be used to house 40-50 homeless people in the East Village.

Named the E Street Encampment Project, it will focus on the many camps in a six block area surrounding the Old Downtown Central Library at 820 E Street, from Broadway to F Street and 7th to 10th Avenue.

The goal, a path to long term housing, includes intensive outreach ("not just your normal outreach") and street-based case management to connect people to homes, healthcare and other services.

It's the first such state grant to target homeless encampments, officials said. But some are asking what's so different about the city's E Street project? Isn't it just the latest of many similar, and unsuccessful, efforts?

And for that matter, why this small slice of downtown when much larger encampments exist near the Barrio, all along Commercial Avenue?

"This is concerning to me, this location, while several impacted areas in district 8 get worse," said councilmember Vivian Moreno, mentioning the Commercial Avenue corridor, for one. The council allocated an additional $1 million for homeless outreach - but that was 6 months ago, she said.

"If you were to go with me you would see encampments just lining this street. Sadly, little has changed."

According to staff from the city’s Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department, there are big differences in the E Street project, starting with equity.

Black females are a majority of the residents, many over age 55.

Outreach workers will be "side by side dedicated to these 50 individuals," staff said. The city will be working with non-profit providers, and expects to begin the project in about two months.

Quarterly reports sent to the state will keep track of the city's efforts, which include ensuring the encampments are gone, and that people accept the services.

It's only the first encampment resolution, staff said - the state has more in the works. The city will utilize this first round of funding like a pilot - "how we address encampments."

The state turned down an initial application for the grant in 2021 that did include larger areas within district 8 because it wasn't site-specific, officials said. So the city came back with the more targeted location.

The city will spend $1,200,000 of the funds on housing and flexible subsidies; $950,000 on intensive outreach; $150,000 on supportive services; $116,500 on administrative costs; and $30,000 on sustainable outcomes, a two year follow-through to make sure each person has a roof over their head after the site is cleared.

Once people are housed, preventing the return of an encampment will be a required part of the process, possibly by activating the streets with a farmer's market or art space.