New coalition forms to help provide SLO and Northern Santa Barbara county businesses with economic relief
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- A public-private partnership has formed to help local businesses overcome the current financial crisis being caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new unnamed coalition includes several government and business entities from Northern Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
It is being headed by the County of San Luis Obispo and REACH, formerly known as the Hourglass Project.
It includes all seven San Luis Obispo County cities, as well as Santa Maria, all SLO County chambers of commerce, plus the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Other partners include the Visit SLO CAL, Economic Vitality Corporation, Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and more.
"Local employers have had to furlough or lay off workers, and residents are struggling to make ends meet," said SLO County Administrative Officer and Emergency Services Director Wade Horton. "But we are resilient, and we will get through these difficult economic challenges together."
A major component of the new effort is the establishment of a new website, www.RecoverCentralCoast.org.
The site will provide business owners with important information and will centralize and simplify access to economic relief resources.
"We are one region, and we need to have one united voice, one coordinated response to the significant challenges facing the lives and livelihood of the people of the Central Coast," said REACH CEO Melissa James. "The first of many actions of this coalition is to bring access to the economic relief resources all in one place."
The new website currently directs users to a page located on ReadySLO.org, which is the San Luis Obispo County emergency information site.
James said a stand-alone site will be up and running in the near future.
Some of the information it will include will be resources linking business owners to tax relief, State and Federal stimulus funding, workforce training, job opportunities, and much more.
"The impacts facing our communities are not unique, we are all sharing the same impacts and we will benefit in sharing the same solutions," said Santa Maria City Manager Jason Stillwell. "I am proud too stand united with all of our partners in SLO and Santa Barbara counties, as we aide local businesses and individuals in accessing resources and support."
"With businesses closing, massive layoffs and travel coming to a screeching halt, we see now, more than ever, that in order to succeed, we must work together to plan for how we can ultimately bring our economy back," said Visit SLO CAL CEO Chuck Davison. "That is why we are partnering on this effort."
For more information, visit RecoverCentralCoast.org.
