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Background

In December 2020, the County of San Mateo acquired the Coastside Inn hotel in Half Moon Bay in order to create a new shelter program to assist people experiencing homelessness.  There were no homeless shelters on the San Mateo County coastside, and after many years of exploration and attempts from various stakeholders to address this service gap, a unique opportunity was presented where the County received time-limited federal funding and was able to identify a building for sale that was appropriate to develop a non-congregate homeless shelter.  These circumstances aligned efforts to bring site-based services to the coast that would also make progress towards the County’s goal of reaching a functional zero level of homelessness.  The City of Half Moon Bay is supportive of these efforts and desires to work collaboratively with the County on addressing homelessness on the coast.

This new program will serve San Mateo County community members who are experiencing homelessness, with a preference first for those who are from Half Moon Bay and surrounding coastside areas.  This shelter approach not only addresses the vulnerabilities due to COVID-19, but also eliminates many of the barriers reported by chronic unsheltered homeless individuals who have declined shelter in the past.  By providing personal privacy in individual rooms, the option for partners to be sheltered together, and maintaining a connection with their home community on the coast, this emergency shelter will provide a safe resting place while program participants work on long term housing plans.  A pilot program was initiated in December 2020 to test the location and operations, with the knowledge that the longer-term program would benefit from community input.

To view more information about the County’s acquisition process and current and future plans for the shelter, please visit: https://www.smcgov.org/shelter-coastside-inn

Links to FAQ’s, Correspondance, and Reports to City Council:

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Correspondence received for the December 1, 2020 City Council Meeting
• Correspondence received for the December 1, 2020 City Council Meeting Batch 2
• Staff Report for the December 1, 2020 City Council Meeting

Coastside Homeless Shelter Community Advisory Committee

In order to ensure the success of the program and in response to public input, a Community Advisory Committee has been established to provide guidance and feedback to ensure that the City of Half Moon Bay, the County of San Mateo, and the program operator have community liaisons who will share valuable feedback and insight on the perception of the shelter and its relationship to the surrounding community, which may otherwise not be made known.

Proposed activities for this advisory committee include:

• Providing feedback into the selection of the shelter program operator
• Serving as the liaison in the community to bring concerns to the attention to the City of Half Moon Bay, the County of San Mateo, and the program operator
• Serving as communication liaisons with community stakeholders, to ensure timely, accurate communications on the program, activities, and relevant operating protocols are shared to avoid any misunderstandings from members of the public.
• Developing performance measures and other metrics to ensure the success of the program
• Identifying opportunities for community involvement
• Participate in collaborative problem solving on community-related issues and impacts

Click Here to view the guiding document that provides an overview of the Community Advisory Committee

Committee Members