TONIGHT: Another Hurdle to House the Homeless
The project formerly known as "Cabin Village" is over budget and a new funding source is on the table.
Greetings readers!
For folks following Ojai’s state-funded permanent supportive housing project for the chronically homeless (formerly known as “Cabin Village”), I want to make you aware of an Ojai City Council meeting happening tonight, April 14th.
But first: a bit of background.
Just prior to Thanksgiving 2023, a grandmother who raised her children in Ojai moved into a tent at Ojai City Hall. She couldn’t find an affordable local rental and her only other option — camping at Lake Casitas — frightened her. She joined 20-35 other campers on the 8-acre city campus. This woman, now in her late seventies, lives at Ojai City Hall to this day. She neighbors about 20 others, many of whom are elderly and disabled.
The camp at City Hall and a citizen-led Homelessness Task Force motivated Councilwomen Rachel Lang, Leslie Rule and (now former Councilwoman) Suza Francina to vote to submit a grant application to the state’s Encampment Resolution Fund on January …
