Three months after agreeing to indefinitely continue a program that provides small cabins for homeless women and children in El Cajon, the City Council is looking into ways to expand the village.
Six emergency sleeping cabins have been at Meridian Baptist Church in El Cajon since 2020 and so far have served 31 women and 18 children. Amikas, the nonprofit that built the cabins and runs the program, is interested in adding four more cabins.
On Tuesday, the City Council agreed to direct staff members to analyze ways to allow more cabins on the property, possibly through a zoning change or a new policy.
“I think they have more than proven the success of the program,” said Councilmember Steve Goble, who first brought the program to the City Council in 2020. “Absolutely, I support increasing the number of cabins to 10 eventually. I suggest going in steps of maybe two and then two more.”
The cabins opened at the end of 2022 as a pilot program originally scheduled to end last December, but the City Council that month lifted the condition, allowing it to continue indefinitely under an administrative zoning permit.
Unlike the Chula Vista Village at Otay, which has 65 white, stark 64-square-foot cabins, the six 144-square-foot cabins at Meridian Baptist Church resemble small homes with electricity and porches.
Speaking before the El Cajon City Council on Tuesday, Amikas Treasurer Lisa Kogan said the stability and sense of security provided by the cabins has helped their clients overcome homelessness.
“These cabins change lives and save lives,” she said.
Women can work on their résumés to find jobs, meet with therapists and get connected with permanent housing while on the site, said Kogan, adding that the program also benefits children.
“A 13-year-old boy started school after not attending for three years,” she said. “He and his mom had also been living in their car. He was so excited to begin his new school. She shared with me that he wanted to be like other kids.”
