Two state grants totaling $11.2 million are meant to help South County cities alleviate homeless encampments.

Two grants from the State of California's encampment resolution funding program to the County of Monterey will go toward helping two South Monterey County cities alleviate homeless encampments. 

King City will receive $6.4 million and Soledad $4.7 million. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced these grants on Thursday, April 18 as part of a round of $192 million to 17 communities throughout the state to support encampment resolution. When the program was originally developed and named, Newsom said, officials included "resolution" in the title by design. 

"It wasn't about just cleaning out or cleaning up encampments—it was about resolving underlying issues," he said.

In King City, the money will receive a 50-percent match from the Central California Alliance on Health and will go toward developing permanent, supportive housing at a Day's Inn location that has been in the works since 2022. (When the project developer defaulted on its loans, the Day's Inn project was left in limbo.) The Housing Authority of the County of Monterey will now be the developer of the project.

"We hope to become a model for other small communities by showing we can achieve meaningful solutions to homelessness throughout California by working together and each doing our part," King City Mayor Mike LeBarre said in a statement. 

The City of Soledad will use funds for community outreach and collaboration to connect to encampment residents, with outreach jointly from the City and the County. 

"These initiatives represent a significant step forward in resolving homelessness in our region," County Supervisor Chris Lopez said in a statement. (Lopez's District 3 includes South County.) "By leveraging partnerships and resources, we are making tangible progress toward ensuring every individual has access to safe and stable housing."

Both Monterey County communities, like others in the region, have sites that are home to a growing number of people living in encampments in the brush along the Salinas River. A fire in King City in 2022 drew attention to the issue and public safety concerns for people living in encampments.