Thanks to community advocacy, City Council approved $669K in funding for improvements to Samoshel - an interim housing facility located on City property, leased and operated by OPCC dba The People Concern.

The facility is a tent that has not been improved by the City or by The People Concern for a quarter of a century. During that time, vulnerable homeless individuals - many of them seniors, disabled or with serious health conditions - have been warehoused, sometimes for years, in substandard conditions complete with mold, at times in temperatures of around 60°F in the winter and over 80°F in the summer, with no ventilation and with poor air quality, including the sewer gas odor.

Read More: https://www.smobserved.com/story/2019/06/20/opinion/city-to-fund-669k-in-improvements-to-samoshel-tent-after-25-years-of-neglect/4061.html