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Huell Howser's "California Communities" Features the Housing Authority's
El Carrillo Housing for the Homeless

July 8, 2009, Santa Barbara, CA — Popular PBS host Huell Howser spends a day at El Carrillo, the Housing Authority’s beautiful Spanish-style apartment complex located in downtown Santa Barbara – and "home" to 61 formerly homeless individuals. The episode of Huell Howser’s “California ’s Communities” airs on July 9th at 7:30 p.m. and again at 12:30 a.m., and July 30th at 7:30 p.m. on KCET-TV (Cox Cable Channels 10 and 710).

The Housing Authority, partner nonprofit PathPoint and a number of community programs, have been working together since 2006, when El Carrillo opened its doors, to provide permanent housing to homeless individuals in Santa Barbara. Supportive services are offered on site, including mental health treatment, addiction counseling, job training, life skills and budgeting classes.

For the program, Huell Howser talks extensively with the residents of El Carrillo, who before moving in had been homeless between 6 months to 16 years.

“We are so proud of our partners, supporters and our residents at El Carrillo as they are recognized for their efforts to make El Carrillo a successful solution to homelessness,” said Rob Pearson, CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara. “This program will help other communities understand how developments like El Carrillo can end homelessness versus simply trying to manage the problem of homelessness…as has been the approach in much of America.”

Huell Howser’s California’s Communitites
California’s Communities takes us throughout our state in search of the positive stories connected with our cities and towns, large and small, and with the people who live there. In this series, popular PBS host Huell Howser discovers what local officials and citizens are doing to make their communities even more vibrant places to live and work.

The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara
The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara is a local public agency created for the purpose of providing safe, decent, and quality affordable housing and supportive services to eligible persons with limited incomes, through a variety of federal, state, local and private resources. Please visit the website at www.hacsb.org.

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