On Friday, April 9, a pop-up vaccine clinic in Atascadero helped inoculate a few dozen unhoused North County community members for COVID-19.
Hosted by the El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO), with assistance from the Community Health Centers of the Central Coast (CHC), the clinic used the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine on ECHO dinner and shower program participants. We determined with Public Health that Johnson & Johnson would be best for that population, because it s a one-time only, ECHO CEO Wendy Lewis told
New Times. We ve been working super closely with Public Health and CHC to try to figure out the best way to take vaccines to the population we serve.
In 2020 while navigating the COVID pandemic, El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO) successfully expanded homeless services in Northern San Luis Obispo County where they had been much needed for years. In one year, the organization grew from 50 beds and a small handful of staff to more than 100 beds and three shelters, and almost two dozen staff members. How did this expansion come about? And how is it being managed? What other plans does the non-profit have to tackle the communities’ homeless issues?
Join Fred Munroe as he speaks with guests with El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO), Wendy Lewis, President & CEO, and Jeff Al-mashat, Director of Homeless Services in Paso Robles as they discuss their expansion and how the program, in addition to providing shelter, offers services for these individuals to secure a job and find permanent and sustainable housing and how the community can help in these efforts.
ECHO
ATASCADERO, Calif. The El Camino Homeless Organization, or ECHO, is bringing back their annual Empty Bowls event on April 29.
The event will be a drive thru/pick up event.
The event will be held at the Atascadero Bible Church from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The event will feature soups, stews and chowders from local restaurant chefs and artisan breads from local bakeries.
The organization is still looking for donations of soup for the event. Any restaurant interested can email, greer@scoutrentalco.com.
Local celebrities will be serving attendees in their cars.
Each meal includes soup and break for a family of 4 along with desserts.
–El Camino Homeless Organization is holding its annual Empty Bowls event on Thursday, April 29, at Atascadero Bible Church, 6225 Atascadero Ave., Atascadero. New this year is a drive-through pick-up from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event features delectable soups, stews, and chowders from local restaurant chefs and artisan breads from local bakeries.
Reprising their role are local celebrities coming to serve attendees in their cars. Each meal includes soup and bread for a family of four and desserts too.
Tickets are available for purchase through the ECHO website at www.echoshelter.org/empty-bowls-2021 for a family meal serving four people for $50 or $60 with a souvenir hand-crafted empty bowl. Everyone is encouraged to participate to support ECHO and its mission of helping those facing homelessness in our community.
A Motel 6 that was turned into emergency homeless shelter space and supportive housing in Paso Robles is one of several fast-paced and unconventional efforts to address homelessness on the Central Coast amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But it s one of the few that will remain when the pandemic is over. While the coronavirus and resulting economic downturn have led to concerns about a spike in homelessness, it also generated a surge in federal and state dollars aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 among houseless populations. Much of the funding is one-time and many of the resulting projects are temporary, but homeless advocates say coronavirus relief funding has offered opportunities to experiment with ideas that wouldn t otherwise be attainable.