[Santa Barbara ]Grand jury points out issues with projects Homekey and Roomkey

While state-funded projects helped address some homelessness issues by creating more housing units during the pandemic, a recent Santa Barbara County grand jury report found that the county needs more permanent funding sources to continue its recent successes.

“The grand jury found there was overwhelming evidence that demonstrated the effectiveness of Project Roomkey in providing a non-congregate shelter option for hotel and shelter rooms. The state Homekey program took it a step further to provide state resources to local governments for repurposing for interim or permanent housing,” said Dinah Lockhart, the deputy director of the county’s housing and community division.

Lockhart presented the jury’s findings to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors during its Feb. 8 meeting and discussed its response to the jury’s report.

“The keys to housing the homeless,” the grand jury recommended establishing programs similar to Roomkey in both North and South County, collaborating with other county entities to create a potential site roster, working with city officials to develop and implement local programs, and creating a funding plan, she said at the meeting.

“The county Community Services Department formed a roster of [potential] hotels and motels for the

Roomkey program. It’s noted in the county responses to the grand jury report that the county continues to work with local jurisdictions to identify Homekey sites,” Lockhart said.

Current projects in North and South County include DignityMoves in Santa Barbara, the Isla Vista Pallet Shelter program, and the Lompoc Pallet Shelter program, plus the county Housing Authority submitted applications for locations in Santa Maria and Goleta, Lockhart said.

“Roomkey was successful in transitioning senior and medically fragile community residents to housing placements, [but] without a sustained funding source beyond emergency federal or state funding this model is not sustainable,” Lockhart said.

The state of California allocated $1.45 billion in 2021-22 fiscal year, and $1.3 billion in the 2022-23 fiscal year for Homekey projects at local levels. Santa Barbara County applied and received $3.12 million for a Lompoc studios project—providing 14 units—and $7 million for an Isla Vista shelter with 22 rooms and 50 beds, she said.

About $22.2 million in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funds are allocated to different sites, services, sanitation and cleanup, and outreach teams in the county, but the grand jury report suggests finding a long-term funding source if the county wants to continue pushing the Homekey and Roomkey program, she continued.

“The grand jury report [also] noted the county and community providers found it challenging to find hotels or motels willing to participate,” Lockhart said.

Most recently the county had issues working with Santa Maria and converting a Motel 6 to provide 75 additional sheltering units, 2nd District Supervisor Gregg Hart pointed out.

“I just think that demonstrates that we can’t collaborate or communicate enough, but we are going to continue because we know this approach works,” Hart said.

Regardless, the county has continued making progress, Hart said, and the public should be pleased to see the program’s success.

“It’s not easy, but the successes are real. They are individual people—our neighbors—and it can be difficult for us to contemplate the trauma and the tragedy they experience. … The pandemic is exacerbating this problem, and we are trying to get folks on this path that works and get all local governments on the same strategy,” Hart said.

Santa Maria Sun
By Taylor O'Connor
February 9, 2022