Watsonville to build tiny home village for homeless

Watsonville City Council has approved the construction of a tiny home village to house the homeless, overcoming a resident's appeal to restrict the development.
The project will build 34 tiny homes in the parking lot behind Westview Presbyterian Church and provide job counseling and mental health support to residents.
"I mean, nobody would want that living next to them. And if they're doing drugs, they're doing it because they want to. And then they have to somehow get the money to do the drug. So are they going to rob you then? Are they going to hurt the kids? We don't know," said Diana Thomas, an Aptos resident.
"This is 24 seven staffed, fenced in security guard and the people aren't coming and going getting services. This is just for them and they're going to come. And it's a place for them to recover, because being on the streets is very traumatizing," said Dan Hoffman, pastor at Westview Presbyterian Church.
The goal is to provide a temporary home for the homeless so that they can get back on their feet and move to permanent housing within 6-12 months.
"We can transition other people in there and get them out of, out of the levy or out of the slews. So it just provides an avenue for, for lifting up other people that are in house that, you know, for, for, whatever issue they're dealing with or their, health issues or their, you know, substance abuse issues, we can give him a hand," said Eduardo Montesino, a city council member.
The project is being funded by an $8 million grant created by Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.
"We are all one community. We need to work together to solve the larger issues and engage our civic leadership, as well as community organizations like ours, to work together," said Mike Kittredge of the Community Action Board.
The project is expected to break ground in April and is anticipated to open sometime in August or September.