Statistics show that by providing unhoused residents with reliable, secure shelter for three months, they are more likely to get back into permanent housing.
That’s what El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO) CEO Wendy Lewis told the Paso Robles City Council at its meeting on Aug. 19, announcing that the nonprofit hoped to fully transition its services to a 90-day program as opposed to nightly stays.
According to Lewis, ECHO found that of those who used the center’s nightly stays at its Atascadero and Paso Robles locations, only 10 percent were able to get back into housing. About 60 percent of those who went through the 90-day program established housing.
In total, Paso’s ECHO facility has 70 beds. Nightly stays are through a lottery, Lewis explained to the council, with only five available beds per night. The three-month program, which requires an application, has 65 beds.
“The night-by-night offers safety and stability for that evening. But can you imagine, you took the leap to come to us, to seek the services. You’re one of 20 to 25 people hoping for one of those beds, and then your name isn’t drawn so then you’re upset, you’re sad, you’re scared,” she said. “We can offer you other services, but we can’t offer you a bed that evening. … Those people have to leave campus and they’re not happy, right?”
The topic landed on the council’s agenda as it reviewed ECHO’s 2024-25 end of year report and voted to distribute the city’s remaining payment of $111,000 to the homeless organization.
According to Paso Robles Homeless Services Manager Ashlee Hernandez, the city has been contributing $222,000 per year since August 2022 to assist with staffing and operations.
The council approved the funding and transition unanimously that night, but not before getting an earful from the public.
Wendy Richardson said she owns a nearby carwash that has frequently dealt with loitering of unhoused residents who didn’t receive a nightly stay in the lottery. She told the council that it doesn’t realize the full extent of the damage inflicted on businesses, like public urination and stolen buckets of water.
“On the outside, I’m here to tell you, it is serious,” she said. “There’s a certain part of this homeless thing that they don’t want help, they just want to be ‘whatever,’ and the businesses are suffering.”
Resident Gary Lamb said he doesn’t see how a 90-day program would improve the loitering conditions, and suggested the city relocate those who inhabit the Salinas Riverbed to the former Estrella Juvenile Facility campus near the Paso Robles Airport.
“That is a big campus. It’s already got gates. You can secure the homeless people there and watch over them and keep them from going to the businesses and doing whatever,” he said. “Put them in the position where there’s control, where there’s people watching them and making sure that there’s no problems.”
Councilmember Fred Strong said that relocating people was illegal.
Referring to riverbed residents as the “hobos of yesteryear,” Strong said, “They don’t want to be a part of society. They want their own little government and their own little way and that’s what they do, and they are all still citizens and have all the rights we do. We can’t just pick them up and incarcerate them somewhere else without their permission.”
Strong said that without ECHO, the homelessness issue would be even worse than it is.
“They can’t just cease to exist. They are people. They are people in hard times and people with serious problems. Many of them were brought on themselves but nonetheless, they’re human beings with serious problems,” he said.
With the City Council’s approval, ECHO CEO Lewis told New Times that the Paso nightly program will end on Sept. 4, but anyone is welcome to apply for the longer stay.
“Absolutely anybody is eligible, and because we are a low barrier program, that means somebody can have the opportunity even before they’re sober,” she said. “As long as they’re able to have the behaviors that keep the whole of what we’re trying to do happen in a safe way.”
Right now, between both the Atascadero and Paso Robles facilities, Lewis said there’s a waiting list of about 300 for the program. And while it may take longer to serve them, in the long run, there will be more housed residents.
“It offers them the most stability in that unstable time, being unhoused, because they know that their bed is guaranteed,” she said. Ī
This article appears in Aug 28 – Sep 7, 2025.