A “place of healing”—Tiny home village unveiled

With a small handful of finishing touches still left to complete on a tiny home village in Westview Presbyterian Church’s parking lot in Watsonville, organizers say the project will be complete in late November.

And with only occupancy permits needed after that, the 34-unit Recurso de Fuerza is expected to open its doors before the end of the year to the homeless people living along the Pajaro River Levee.

Dozens of community members and reporters gathered at the church Friday for a sneak peek of the project, which includes small single rooms and slightly bigger doubles for couples. It also offers separate communal laundry and bathroom facilities.

The unveiling was also a chance for officials from Monterey and Santa Cruz counties—as well as the city of Watsonville—to talk about the project that has stirred controversy since its inception two years ago, when Monterey County received an $8 million Encampment Resolution Funding grant from the State of California.

Homeless services providers say it will give residents a safe place to live as they receive wraparound services and hopefully get a chance at rebuilding their lives and finding permanent housing.

The project is also intended to give the homeless residents living along the Pajaro River Levee a place to stay while the levee undergoes a massive rebuild.

But neighbors worry that the project is the wrong fit for the residential area, and say they fear an increase in crime.

Monterey County Homelessness Prevention and Intervention Services Director Mike Kittredge said the village will be a closed campus, and have 24-hour security and staff onsite, and that organizers plan to be in constant contact with the neighbors.

Rev. Dan Hoffman of the Westview Presbyterian Church called the village a “place of healing” for the residents, each of whom have unique stories about how they became homeless.

“What these people need is not to be arrested,” he said. “They need to be brought to a place like this.”

“I’m sad that sometimes the homeless are seen as a nuisance,” he added.

Watsonville Mayor Maria Orozco said the village represents one piece of a broader effort to solve the complex issue of homelessness.

A key part of that, Orozco said. is offering a wide range of services such as on-site case management, medical and mental health services and housing navigation.

“The center recognizes that lasting change takes wraparound care, and dignity every step of the way,” she said. “As a community we can’t just focus on temporary solutions. We have to think about prevention, access to services and long-term housing all at once. That’s how we break this cycle, by working together to address the root causes.”

Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo, who chairs the Pajaro River Flood Management Agency, praised efforts to braid the double priorities of rebuilding the levee and helping the people who live there.

“Along the Pajaro River, we see both urgent needs to protect our families and businesses from devastating floods, and—equally urgent—a need to provide real sustainable solutions for our neighbors experiencing homelessness in the river town,” Alejo said.