Santa Barbara Homeless Shelter to Close?

At a historic moment when the Trump administration is vowing to re-criminalize homelessness, hack back federal funding for homeless programs, launch clean-the-streets sweeps to eradicate homeless encampments, and strip many homeless adults — purportedly able-bodied adults — of their eligibility for government assistance, the owners and operators of Santa Barbara’s biggest homeless shelter — located on the city’s industrial Eastside — are throwing in the towel after a ten-year stint. 

As of December 31, the statewide non-profit PATH — People Assisting the Homeless — announced it will cease homeless service operations out of a former furniture warehouse located at 816 Cacique Street by the railroad tracks near Marborg’s operations. 

PATH executives confirmed reports that they’re in negotiations with top administrators at City Hall to buy the building. Neither side is willing to discuss terms or conditions, but the building is encumbered with a debt of $3.2 million and is bound by a covenant limiting its use to homeless shelter and services through the year 2049. 

PATH — with homeless operations in 25 cities — took over the shelter in 2015 at a time its predecessor — Casa Esperanza — found itself under intense economic pressure and criticism from neighbors. 

At the time, PATH promised to transform the shelter that had been run since 1998 as a flophouse-style warehouse to a philanthropically fundable operation that would provide programs designed to bring people off the streets and into housing. 

For all its successes — 700 clients over the years would become housed — PATH’s path has been anything but smooth. After an initial honeymoon with neighbors, the shelter encountered chronic difficulty recruiting onsite managers and staff. Neighborhood criticism about ambient street activity returned. Homeless advocates complained about lack of access. Relations with City Hall — perhaps the shelter’s chief sponsor and toughest critic — went from strained, to prickly, to seriously fraught. 

From the start, the shelter operated under a conditional use permit approved by City Council, meaning shelter administrators had to submit to a gauntlet of Planning Commission and council reviews. And for all its programmatic improvements, PATH never established a pick-up-the-phone rapport so useful when dealing with the powers that be, whoever they are. 

In 2024, city administrators put PATH on notice that they needed to come up with a “performance improvement plan.” City Hall stopped automatically donating $200,000 a year to the shelter but instead offered the same amount in exchange for a guarantee of seven shelter beds. 

This year, city administrators opted instead to contract with the tiny home village on Santa Barbara Street owned by Dignity Moves and operated by the Good Samaritan Shelter. Dignity Moves posted a significantly higher housing placement rate, though its client base was perhaps not as challenging.

Perhaps it was the loss of those funds that PATH Senior Director of Communications Tyler Renner alluded to in a written statement. “Economic conditions and policy decisions have resulted in PATH operating at a deficit,” he wrote. “Without adequate public funding for the services we provide, it has become increasingly challenging to sustain operations.” 

When PATH took over, the shelter functioned as a 200-bed operation during winter months and a 100-bed shelter the rest of the time. Under PATH, the shelter has shifted almost exclusively to a 100-bed operation. The majority of those beds was contracted by Cottage Hospital to provide desperately needed care for recently released homeless patients. 

These patients were clients of the county’s departments of Behavioral Wellness, Housing and Community Services, and Probation, and these entities considered the interim bedspaces provided by PATH a godsend. Though this has provided a reliable funding stream for PATH, it was insufficient to cover costs, according to former shelter managers. 

On a typical night, Behavioral Wellness patients, struggling with medium to severe mental health challenges, occupy 17 of PATH’s available beds; Cottage patients occupy nearly double that. In exchange, PATH is paid $65 a bed per night. 

Should City Hall and PATH reach a deal over the sale of the building, it remains to be seen what entity will manage it. No request for proposals has yet been made, but the likely candidates are Good Samaritan, City Net, and New Beginnings.  

Renner’s statement said that PATH will work to ensure “all of our guests have transition plans to other providers … so that they do not transition back to homelessness.” He added, “With nearly 1,000 people experiencing homelessness in the city, we encourage local leaders to make the necessary investments to truly end this crisis.”