Sonoma County turns down Sonoma’s request for winter shelter funds

Sonoma Overnight Support comes up empty-handed when they go to the county for help.|

SOS FUNDRAISER

Sonoma Overnight Support's sixth annual Mother's Day Lunch will be held Saturday, May 5, at Burlingame Hall, 252 W. Spain St., Sonoma.

Lunch provided by Wild Thyme Catering, with proceeds benefitting the SOS Brown Baggers Food Program, Emergency Shelter at the Haven and Day Services.

Individual tickets are $40, with preferred table seating for groups of 8 or 10 ranging from $00 to $1,000.

For tickets, go online to sonomaovernightsupport.org or call 937-6777.

The Sonoma County Community Development Commission allocated more than $2.1 million for homeless support last week to multiple county agencies – but Sonoma's nonprofit homeless program received none of it.

The CDC voted March 13 to deny any funding for Sonoma Overnight Support's winter shelter program, terming SOS's pledge to abide by the county's policies for support services 'simply not believable.'

The CDC did bestow funds to multiple agencies, including $210,000 for winter shelter services in the county. More than half of that, $140,000, goes to West County Community Services in the Guerneville area, with an additional $70,000 split between Social Advocates for Youth and Catholic Charities, both in Santa Rosa.

Kathy King, executive director of Sonoma Overnight Support, described herself as 'flabbergasted' over the vote.

'I'm not saying we should get it over Guerneville or over Santa Rosa. I'm just saying just spread it around a little,' said King.

Sonoma Overnight Support officials say they applied for $60,000 to fund next year's winter shelter and expected to receive about $30,000, which is about what the county granted last year.

Now King is pinning her hopes on a meeting with the 1st District Supervisor on March 23. Gorin called that meeting with SOS, CDC staff and City of Sonoma officials to see if other funds might be available.

Gorin acknowledges the role the Russian River communities play in serving the county's homeless – but says Sonoma's role shouldn't be entirely diminished.

'The Russian River communities shoulder a great deal of the burden in providing homeless services, but Sonoma Valley houses 11 percent of the homeless population, so there should be proportionate resources for Sonoma Valley in concert with the City (of Sonoma),' Gorin wrote in an email to the Index-Tribune.

King believes the denial of funds stems from her decision to go public last December with an announcement that SOS would not apply for a $41,000 grant in CDC funds for its 'Haven' homeless shelter on First Street West.

That initial sparring with the county stemmed from the grant's requirement, under federal 'Housing First' standards – also called 'coordinated entry' – which would prevent SOS from operating under two of its core policies: to deny shelter access to clients under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and to prioritize its services for Sonoma Valley residents.

The Sonoma City Council last month stepped in and allocated $20,000 to SOS for operation of the shelter, in addition to the $30,000 the City budgets annualy under its agreement with SOS.

Increasingly, the county is holding fast to the Housing First standard of response.

'The Commission must meet its federal mandate for participation in coordinated entry and for a Housing First strategy that offers housing placement for the most vulnerable people in the system of care first,' said Felicity Gasser, communications and policy liaison for the CDC.

But Housing First, with its de-emphasis on drug testing and other social risk factors in favor of expediting housing for the homeless, has come under criticism – not only from SOS, but other county homeless organizations as well.

Wallace House Community Services in Cloverdale also refuses the Housing First requirements and, like SOS, has not applied for county funding dependent upon it.

'Housing First would also have put young girls and boys in the same bathroom as men who were under the influence of methamphetamine – a drug which is notorious for causing hyper-sexual activity and acting out,' wrote Colleen Halbohm, the executive director of Wallace House. 'Many of our clients are also victims of sexual abuse, so we are not willing to risk re-traumatizing them in this way again.'

Halbohm lent her support to Sonoma Overnight Support, calling the county's withdrawal of funding for SOS 'very unfortunate.'

Last year, CDC granted Sonoma Overnight Support just over $30,000 for its four-month winter shelter program which operated for three months earlier this winter – over that time, SOS provided winter shelter for 43 homeless people totaling almost 1,000 'bed nights.'

All told – with the loss of two grants, but one-time funds from the City of Sonoma – the hit to SOS leads to at least $50,000 shortfall in the shelter's operating budget for 2018, and it's unclear where funds to make up the difference can come from. King said the annual budget for SOS is about $600,000.

SOS officials say its winter shelter program would adhere to the Housing First standards, and would provide services for clients without the use of a drug test. King said she has agreed to the county's terms for admittance to the winter shelter, as SOS has done in the past, in the interest of providing shelter in inclement weather for those who need it.

SOS accepts any homeless in need of winter shelter if they show up at the Haven on First Street West by 6 p.m. during the December-March winter months. There, they provide dinner and transportation to the Alliance Community Church on Watmaugh, via a contract with Vern's Taxi.

The church itself doesn't actively take part in the program, except to open the doors to its Fellowship Hall.

SOS has a staff person at the winter shelter on duty all night. While the winter shelter operated from December through February, said King, the SOS manager at the church 'spent almost 80 percent of her time' working with people with behavioral or drug problems and making several calls to the police.

And although SOS says it operates its winter shelter according to the county's terms, their request for funding was denied.

According to county staff, the Sonoma nonprofit's philosophical opposition to the housing-first model was a strong consideration in its recommendation to deny SOS's request for funds.

'While staff appreciate SOS's winter shelter effort, the application presented confusing information and seemed more about the Haven than this supposedly low-barrier shelter,' wrote county officials. 'SOS suggests the winter shelter will cooperate with (coordinated entry), but this is simply not believable.'

Concluded the report: 'The organization has significant capacity issues, and staff believe our system needs a long term strategy to bring in a more experienced shelter provider.'

King, however, is adamant the winter shelter has adhered to the federal and county requirements.

'We didn't drug-test anybody, we didn't prescreen, we didn't prioritize, nothing that they said we had to do with the Haven,' said King. 'We didn't do any of that, and they said, 'We don't believe you.''

Sonoma City Councilmember Rachel Hundley and Mayor Madolyn Agrimonti are part of a council subcommittee formed earlier this month to review the city's partnership with SOS and form a long-term stategy for Sonoma's homeless problem.

Hundley called it 'mind boggling' that the winter shelter would be denied funds from the county.

Agrimonti went so far as to describe the county's denial of funds for the winter shelter as a 'punitive' response for SOS's vocal opposition to Housing First policy at the Haven.

King, Agrimonti and Hundley, along with Supervisor Susan Gorin and others, will be meeting later this week to find a way to release funds for SOS in the coming fiscal year.

'Right now, it feels like the county has turned its back on us,' said Hundley.

Contact Christian via christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.

SOS FUNDRAISER

Sonoma Overnight Support's sixth annual Mother's Day Lunch will be held Saturday, May 5, at Burlingame Hall, 252 W. Spain St., Sonoma.

Lunch provided by Wild Thyme Catering, with proceeds benefitting the SOS Brown Baggers Food Program, Emergency Shelter at the Haven and Day Services.

Individual tickets are $40, with preferred table seating for groups of 8 or 10 ranging from $00 to $1,000.

For tickets, go online to sonomaovernightsupport.org or call 937-6777.

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