MONTEREY, Calif. - Less homeless young people are off the streets in Monterey County and are now living in a safe stable home in Monterey. It's all thanks to a new unique program run by the non-profit Community Human Services.
According to the Monterey County Homeless Census, more than 3,000 people in Monterey County are homeless. Nearly five percent of them are between the ages of 18 and 21.
But this program is now helping five young people no longer become another statistic. It's called the Safe Passage program.
It offers older homeless young people a place to live in a newly renovated cottage on Pearl Street. The rent is affordable. Those living in the home pay 30 percent of their income.
The program is paid by a federal grant from Housing Urban and Development or HUD and the City of Monterey.
Its main purpose is helping these young people become self-sufficient and preventing them from becoming homeless as adults.
"This program provides a big need in the community," says Executive Director Robin McCrae. "It's helping young people who are very vulnerable. It's helping the taxpayers avoid having to provide services or public assistance to people if they become homeless."
Not only does the program provide housing, but it also provides counseling and supervision. One person who's benefited from the program is Antonia Williams.
She's one of five homeless young people that are now living in the cottage. She's originally from Hawaii and moved to the Central Coast when she was younger.
She didn't have a stable home life. She was surrounded by drugs abuse and then her mother moved to Georgia. She found out about this program in May and now has a better life.
"Just a stable environment to live at basically," says Williams. "You can't really do anything in your life if you don't have a stable home to come home to. It's the basis of everything that you do."
She's also now a student at Monterey Peninsula College and plans to joins the U.S. Navy next year. She ultimately wants to become a doctor.
