‘Things are going to get better for me’: Resident moving into Watsonville ‘tiny village’ says the housing will provide her stability

Connie Moreno called the Pajaro River levee home for so many years that she can’t remember exactly how long. The 60-year-old Watsonville resident was one of nearly 100 people displaced from the levee by a massive encampment cleanup last summer.

But 2026 is looking to be a year of new beginnings for Moreno. She, along with six other people who once lived along the levee, will be moving into the long-awaited HOPE Village.

The 34-unit “tiny village” shelter in Watsonville, intended to house residents living along the Pajaro levee, is set to finally open its doors on Monday, Jan. 12, after several delays. 

Moreno told Lookout ahead of move-in day that she’s excited about this new chapter in her life, especially now that she’ll have a stable environment to live in. “Things are going to get better for me,” she said. “So, I can go on and look for a job, and stuff like that.” 

While living on the levee, Moreno had to constantly move around because of rainy weather or levee cleanups, she said. 

“That’s what happened all the time,” she said, describing how she and her neighbors there had to pack up their belongings and shelters at a moment’s notice. “You don’t think about it until the rain finally gets there, and when it does, it’s like, ‘Oh, shoot, we got to go.’” 

Not all the 34 units of HOPE Village will be occupied immediately. Mike Kittredge, homelessness prevention and intervention services director for Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, told Lookout the organization will be moving in residents in stages to ensure people settle into their new homes and allow for the neighbors to adjust to the shelter. The Watsonville-based nonprofit will manage the shelter and also connect residents to medical and social services. The project, funded by an $8 million state grant, is a collaboration between Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. 

Kittredge said the first wave of 10 residents includes the most vulnerable community members: older adults and people with disabilities or chronic illnesses. For the past few months, these residents have been staying at a local hotel while they waited for the “tiny village” to open. 

“We want to make sure that we’re giving our guests the opportunity to get settled in, and for them to get accustomed to the community expectations,” said Aimee Ramirez, operations manager for HOPE Village. “Because for some people, they’ve been homeless for 10-plus years. So, this is a new environment and a new way of living for them.” 

Moreno has been imagining about how she’ll adjust to living in the shelter, imagining what it’ll be like and how it’ll contrast with her previous daily routines at the levee. Once she settles in, she wants to find a job to improve the quality of her life.

Caseworkers from the nonprofit have been continuously doing outreach on the Pajaro River levee since last summer, right before a large encampment sweep displaced over 100 residents. Kittredge told Lookout that the selection process for the village is a collaborative effort between CAB and Santa Cruz County’s homeless services department, which also has clients living along the levee. 

“It’s really a matter of case management, combined with people’s needs,” he said. “These folks that we’re bringing in have some high vulnerabilities living outdoors, so they’ve been prioritized to come in first.” 

Moreno has been staying at a hotel, patiently waiting to move into her room — which is almost the size of a small walk-in closet, and already equipped with a bed — in the “tiny village.” She said she appreciates the support she’s been receiving from her case managers. Each morning, staff from CAB check in with residents at the hotel to see how they are doing and provide them with a gift card for food. 

“Without the help from them, I wouldn’t be able to do anything,” she said. While living along the levee, Moreno recycled cans and bottles in order to bring in enough income to survive. “But that’s not enough to pay rent,” she said. 

Even after calling the levee home for so many years, Moreno doesn’t think she’ll miss it. “I love being outdoors, but I don’t want to be out there the rest of my life,” she said. 

Moreno’s personal belongings weren’t safe because her neighbors often steal her things, she said. But she will miss her four pet cats, which she said were like her family. She gave them to a friend who’s still living on the levee.

“Sometimes when you love things you have to let them go,” she said. Since staying at the motel, she’s visited them a few times. 

In the next few days, Moreno and the other residents selected for the shelter will be packing up belongings for move-in day. “I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “It’s going to get even better, so that’s a good thing.” 

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