Salinas plans to turn old hotel into housing for the homeless

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    SALINAS, California (KSBW) — An old Salinas motel could be the beginning of a new partnership between the city and the County of Monterey as they look to address the area’s homeless housing needs.

That partnership calls for both jurisdictions to play key roles in renovating the motel and providing outreach services to the homeless

“There’s so much need and so much work to do and none of us can do it alone so it’s really through these types of partnerships and creative partnerships that we’re really able to meet the needs of the community,” said Melanie Rhodes of the Monterey county behavioral health department.

The city just recently bought the 26-unit El Rey Motel on the 400 block of West Market with plans of turning it into homeless housing.

But soon after, the county approached to city offering to provide the services, outreach and a path to permanent housing for those dealing with serious mental health issues and homelessness.

“And help stabilize their situations and get them connected to treatment and services that can help them move forward to more stable and permanent solutions,” said Rhodes.

“We recognize that the city has really struggled with some of the components of social services that are required when you are putting unhoused people into housing, the county can provide that,” added Salinas mayor Kimbley Craig.

Both Monterey County and Salinas have partnered before to meet the needs of the homeless. Two years ago, they opened the Share Center, a transitional housing center in Salinas.

The latest partnership could help the county leverage $7 million in state grants to renovate the motel and fund services for two years.

On Tuesday the city council unanimously approved a resolution in support of the partnership, which the county will now use to try and leverage millions in funding.

Mayor Craig said it’s a win-win.

“When the state of California provides that funding we’re absolutely going to go after it because it’s a no-brainer. When we have the opportunity to work collaboratively together and hand out shovels in the sandbox to reduce homelessness for our community we’re absolutely going to partner,” said Mayor Craig.

The deadline to apply for the state grants is April 10th. The city and county should hear by July whether or not it’ll receive the grant funding.

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