A new housing village designed to help people transition out of homelessness and into stable housing opened June 8 in San Luis Obispo, marking a new approach to addressing local encampments along the Central Coast.
Welcome Home Village, located on the County Health Agency Campus in San Luis Obispo, will provide housing and supportive services for up to 54 people experiencing homelessness, primarily those living along the Bob Jones Trail in encampments.
Funded through a $13.3 million Encampment Resolution Fund grant from the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, the project combines interim and permanent supportive housing with on-site wraparound services designed to help people transition into long-term stability.
“This project is the first of its kind … that I could find that has 3D printed units that have been printed off-site while the groundwork is being done,” Welcome Home Village Program Manager Margaret Shepard-Moore told New Times. “That happened concurrently, which shortened our construction timeline down to 10 months.”
The village was developed in partnership with DignityMoves, a nonprofit focused on creating quick-build housing communities for people experiencing homelessness. The site includes 40 permanent supportive housing units and 14 interim housing units.
The permanent units are approximately 180 square feet and include private bathrooms and kitchenettes. Interim units include beds, storage, and furniture, while residents share communal bathrooms, showers, and kitchens.
Residents living in interim housing will eventually transition into permanent units as space becomes available.
The village also includes community amenities such as a laundry facility, staff offices, communal dining areas, and outdoor gathering spaces. Shepard-Moore said the project was intentionally designed to feel welcoming rather than institutional.
“My main job has really been thinking about how people flow throughout the site, how the community feels—even the height of the fence so it doesn’t look like a compound,” she said.
The village will be operated by Good Samaritan Shelter, which has managed supportive housing programs across the Central Coast for more than 35 years, including projects in Santa Barbara, Lompoc, and Santa Maria.
According to project information provided by SLO County, residents will receive individualized case management, mental health assessments, substance abuse treatment services, medical care access, job readiness training, and housing support.
Shepard-Moore said the project is designed with a wraparound care model.
“They’ll have counselors on-site and case managers, a medical navigator, and even housing navigators for people who are moving from this site to other locations,” she said. “They’ll have all of that wraparound care right here on-site, which I think is going to be awesome.”
Potential residents have already been identified through outreach efforts conducted by Good Samaritan Shelter, the city Community Action Team’s Mobile Crisis Unit, and CAPSLO.
Outreach workers spent months building relationships with people living along the Bob Jones Trail and entering them into the Homeless Management Information System, a statewide database used to coordinate housing and services.
People living in permanent supportive housing units may remain there indefinitely as long as they continue following program guidelines.
“My guess and kind of my hope is that they get to a place where they want really independent housing,” Shepard-Moore said. “Then Good Samaritan can help navigate that process to find them housing outside of the project.”
The project’s development and services through June are fully covered by grant funding. After that, county officials estimate ongoing annual costs will total approximately $1.85 million, primarily for operations, outreach services, and administration.
For Shepard-Moore, who is in recovery and now a social worker, the project is deeply personal.
“I had such a hard time finding services when I needed them over a decade ago,” she said. “I went back to school and got my master’s in social work wanting to help fill these gaps in the system.”
Now, seeing the completed village take shape has been emotional, she said.
“I get goosebumps all the time,” Shepard-Moore said. “From homeless outreach, where finding housing is like finding a unicorn, to being part of a project where we get to provide 54 units, it just makes me want to do more of them.”
Fast fact
• Downtown SLO will host its inaugural Paint the Plaza Chalk Festival on Saturday, Sept. 19, at Mission Plaza. The event will turn the plaza into a chalk art space from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with artwork remaining on display through Sept. 20. Registration is open at downtownslo.com/events/paint-the-plaza. ∆
Reach Staff Writer Chloë Hodge at chodge@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in June 11-18, 2026.
