City Council approves ECHO funding through 2028

ECHO reports 446 people served through shelter program, 92 placed in housing and 29 assisted through homeless prevention efforts

PASO ROBLES — The Paso Robles City Council unanimously approved a two-year contribution agreement with the El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO) on Sept. 1, continuing the city’s financial support for emergency shelter and homeless services.

The agreement provides ECHO with $222,000 annually for fiscal years 2026-27 and 2027-28, totaling $444,000. The funding was included in the city budgets adopted June 16 and does not increase the city’s existing contribution.

The council also approved a final $111,000 payment to ECHO for fiscal year 2025-26 and received and filed the organization’s end-of-year report.

Since 2022, the city has provided annual funding to ECHO for emergency shelter and homeless services in Paso Robles. City Homeless Services Manager Ashley Hernandez said ECHO submitted all required reports and supporting documentation for the previous fiscal year.

The new agreement replaces the existing Service Memorandum of Understanding and amendments with an updated contribution agreement that establishes annual reporting requirements for program activities, service outcomes, financial information, and performance measures.

Stephanie Potter, ECHO’s development manager, said the city’s funding is used entirely to support staffing at ECHO’s Paso Robles campus, covering about 20% of direct staffing costs.

ECHO operates its 90-day emergency shelter program at Paso Homekey, located at the former Motel 6 property on Black Oak Drive. The facility has 70 beds designated for ECHO’s emergency shelter program, along with space for residential advocates, a community food pantry, program training, and an emergency resource room.

The emergency resource room, established in January 2024, can be activated by Paso Robles emergency services when immediate overnight shelter is needed.

During the first two quarters of 2026, ECHO reported serving 446 unduplicated individuals and children through its 90-day shelter program, accounting for 10,078 shelter stays.

ECHO also provided 19,478 dinners, 1,131 shower services for outreach clients, and 2,700 shelf-stable food bags during the period. The organization provides case management, laundry services, and referrals to resources including mental health and substance-use treatment.

ECHO reported that 92 individuals and children moved from shelter or outreach services into permanent housing during the first two quarters of 2026. Another 29 individuals and children remained housed through homeless prevention assistance, while 19 people found employment.

At the meeting, ECHO provided an updated figure showing 254 individuals and children had either secured housing or remained housed with ECHO’s assistance. Of that total, 177 came through shelter and outreach services and 77 through prevention efforts.

Councilmember Kris Beal asked about the significant difference in prevention numbers between quarters.

ECHO CEO Wendy Lewis explained the difference was largely related to funding. ECHO began receiving homeless prevention funds directly about two years ago after the county changed its process to allow larger nonprofits to receive funds directly.

Lewis said direct funding allows ECHO to respond more quickly when someone is at immediate risk of losing housing. Assistance can include one-time financial support, working with landlords, budgeting, and financial literacy, food resources, and CalFresh applications.

She said prevention funding primarily comes through the county, with some funding available through CenCal Health depending on grant requirements, but the resources remain limited.

During public comment, many community members spoke in favor of supporting ECHO financially. Diana Roach, a resident of the Paso Homekey program, thanked the council for its support of ECHO and shared her personal experience with the organization.

Roach said ECHO helped her through one of the hardest chapters of her life before reading a poem titled “Echoes That Build a Home.”

“When you’re unhoused, the world can feel like it’s made of locked doors,” Roach said. “ECHO speaks a different language — one made of yes, of ‘come in,’ of ‘let’s figure this out together.’”

Roach said ECHO helped her find housing, regain her footing and dignity, and believe her future could be different.

“To people like me, it’s the difference between surviving and rebuilding,” Roach said.

With Mayor John Hamon and Councilmember Fred Strong absent, the rest of City Council voted unanimously to approve the funding for ECHO, with Beal and fellow Councilmembers Chris Bausch and Steve Gregory voting in favor.

After the vote, Gregory shared another story from a recent ribbon cutting for ECHO’s Balay Ko Family Resource Center in Atascadero, which serves North County families.

Gregory recalled a mother of four who described spending six years worrying about feeding her children and keeping a roof over their heads. After receiving help from ECHO and securing housing, she said she was “dreaming again about the future.”

“That’s what kind of life people go through and how ECHO helps them,” Gregory said, thanking Lewis and ECHO.

The next Paso Robles City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 6 p.m. in the Norris room at Centennial Park.