Sonoma City Council declares ‘homeless shelter crisis’

Designation means Sonoma Overnight Support can apply for six-figure state grant|

The Sonoma City Council has declared a “shelter crisis” in the city, a move that will enable Sonoma Overnight Support, the nonprofit that runs the city’s two homeless shelters, to apply for grant funding for next year.

Kathy King, executive director of Sonoma Overnight Support, said the organization is hoping for a grant for between $100,000 and $150,000 from the state’s Homeless Emergency Aid Program, or HEAP. The council voted 5-0 to declare the crisis at its Nov. 19 meeting – a move required before homeless shelter operators can be eligible for HEAP funds.

Sonoma is not alone in its action. Berkeley, Oakland and San Jose have already declared similar “shelter emergencies” as the region and the state struggle to address homelessness.

“If we get the money, we will use it for next year’s winter shelter,” which costs $80,000 to operate, King said.

The organization is currently deciding how to best allocate the rest of the money, which would probably go to hire more staffers for case management and outreach for helping homeless people find housing, King said.

There are two homeless shelters in Sonoma, both of which are operated by Sonoma Overnight Support, which has a $500,000 annual budget. The Haven, located near the police department on First Street West, is open year-round. The other is the winter shelter, located at the Sonoma Alliance Church on Watmaugh Road, open December through March.

The money for the grant would come from the state’s Homeless Emergency Aid Program.

“The state has granted $12.1 million to the regional body that administers homeless funding in Sonoma County,” said Chuck Mottern, homeless services funding coordinator for the Sonoma County Community Development Commission.

The homeless emergency aid program was established in the state’s 2018-19 budget as one-time funding to help local governments respond to homelessness.

Sonoma Overnight Support’s winter shelter largely serves overflow during the winter months when space isn’t available at the Haven.

King expects about 50 people will use the winter shelter this year, compared with 44 individuals who spent 1,000 bed-nights in 2017. A bed-night is one night’s stay.

This isn’t because there are more homeless people in Sonoma, King said. It’s because the closest other shelter, COTS, which is located in Petaluma, will not be open this winter.

“Ten or 15 people have already signed up” for this year’s shelter, King said. The winter shelter is a no-barrier shelter, meaning that use of drugs or alcohol does not preclude an overnight stay.

Sonoma Overnight Support accepts any homeless in need of shelter if they show up at the Haven by 6 p.m. during the December-March winter months, providing dinner and transportation to the Alliance Church via a contract with Vern’s Taxi.

The church itself is not involved in the program, other than providing the space.

Earlier this year, there was a holdup in funding for the winter shelter, culminating in a decision by county officials to finally approve a total of $60,000 for the winter shelter in July.

The Sonoma County Community Development Commission, which hands out the money on behalf of the county and in the past has supported the winter shelter program, failed to allocate any money to it when it disbursed grants this March – though it dealt out more than $2.1 million in funds to other homeless-support agencies throughout the county.

In 2017, the CDC granted Sonoma Overnight Support $30,000 for its winter shelter, which made this year’s initial complete lack of funds all the more disappointing to officials at Sonoma Overnight Support.

At the time, King said she believed the cutting of funds stemmed from the CDC’s preference that county homeless shelters adhere to federal “Housing First” standards, in which housing homeless people, regardless of whether they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, takes first priority.

But “Housing First” standards would prevent the Haven from two of its core practices: to prioritize locals, and deny shelter access to clients under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Unlike the Haven, however, the winter shelter does adhere to Housing First standards – further frustrating King over the CDC’s initial denial of winter-shelter funds.

But after a show of support from members of the Sonoma City Council, along with a handful of local nonprofits – and when more federal money became available because of a larger-than-anticipated allocation from the federal department of Housing and Urban Development – the county approved the $30,000 in funding, according to King.

The other $30,000, authorized July 10 by the Board of Supervisors, came from transient occupancy tax funds.

Reach Janis Mara at janis.mara@sonomanews.com.

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