Soledad Moves Homeless Residents to Temporary Encampment with Support Services

Sixteen homeless residents in Soledad, California, have been moved from the riverbed near Premiere Cinemas to a temporary encampment on Los Coches Drive, offering showers, 24-hour security, and case management. The relocation is part of a city initiative funded by a $4.7 million state grant to move people out of unsafe encampments.

The site will eventually include 14 modular units, expected to be operational by mid-September, and will remain in place until June 2027. The city’s goal is to transition residents into permanent or transitional housing while providing social services in partnership with the nonprofit Step Up, which offers motel vouchers and additional support.

“Without those comprehensive wraparound services, we can provide a roof and we can provide some shelter, but we’re not going to successfully sustain the transition to transitional housing,” said Beatriz Trujillo, Soledad’s Community and Economic Development Director.

Not all residents are convinced the new site is an improvement. Clarissa Duran, a single mother of two who has been homeless for three years, says she preferred the riverbed, citing fewer restrictions and better shade. She also expressed frustration over others being housed before her despite their shorter time without shelter.

Since May, the city has helped more than 10 individuals find permanent homes. Mayor Anna Velazquez says the effort will give participants “an opportunity to get the resources that they need to be able to have jobs in the future, to be able to have a good quality of life.”

At the end of the two years, the city hopes to convert the modular units into a teen center.

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