Not far from where a tall red crane towers over Anapamu and Chapala streets, Congressmember Salud Carbajal presented a large check for a million dollars to Sanctuary Centers CEO Barry Schoer on Tuesday, part of the $29 million being raised to build 34 studios for individuals with very low incomes. The future residents will have access to Sanctuary’s mental health outpatient clinic, which has occupied a blue Victorian on the corner at De la Vina Street for more than 25 years, as well as round-the-clock care for residents of the top two floors of the five-story building.
Demolition of the parking area and cottages behind the Sanctuary Centers’ 115 West Anapamu Street apartment building has already taken place, said Lola Ban West, Sanctuary Centers’ marketing director. Excavation will ensue for a basement-level clinic that will offer medical and dental care, and behavioral health clinics for residents with mental health, substance abuse, and other health concerns.
Sanctuary Centers has been providing housing and services for some of the most vulnerable in our communities, Carbajal said. He noted that the federal government was providing only a small part of what was a “perfect example of partnership” between federal, state, and local governments. County Supervisor Das Williams, who holds Carbajal’s former seat, noted the city’s waiver of a height limitation for what was truly a “community benefit.” The housing and health-care center was a “dual use that is vitally needed by the people of Santa Barbara,” Williams said.
Ban West said Sanctuary Centers has existed for almost 50 years and was working with government funding and also private donors on the housing and health-center project. “In the next year and a half, we have a goal of $5 million to complete the funding,” she said, which includes naming opportunities.
