Nonprofits working for more permanent shelter
CHICO » Butte County staff are working with a local nonprofit to manage rooms in area motels as emergency shelter for homeless individuals — through Project Roomkey, and a new limited model through nonprofit True North Housing Alliance.
Butte County’s Housing and Homeless Administrator Don Taylor said as of Tuesday ”Project Roomkey is currently using 93 rooms countywide to shelter 134 total individuals.
“The breakdown of the individuals shows there are 106 Federal Emergency Management Agency qualified individuals and 28 others that we characterize as either caretakers or children.”
True North’s Executive Director Joy Amaro said the nonprofit which runs the Torres Shelter continues to be the contracted service provider to operate Project Roomkey through Butte County, with independent contractors managing the motels and case management for clients.
“There isn’t a formal agreement with Safe Space, their involvement is that the contracted Project Roomkey staff are some of past Safe Space volunteers,” Amaro said.
“I would like also like to note The Oroville Rescue Mission has been contracted to provide the wraparound services in the south county efforts for Project Roomkey,” Taylor added. “It very much is a community effort for our entire region of Butte County to best serve our residents.”
True North officially opened a new sheltering strategy Friday in response to enforcements by the city of Chico to remove encampments from city parks. The nonprofit has closed its doors to new occupants until further notice due to current operating restrictions in the county in the coronavirus pandemic — but its new model helps place some unsheltered individuals while following health guidelines.
“The actions that took place last week which resulted in True North opening non-congregate shelter in a motel, was a way to work around current entrance policies,” Amaro said. “Even though the Regional Stay at Home Order has been lifted, our county still remains in the purple tier. True North is taking all precautions and can quarantine individuals safely for 14 days, prior to entrance into the Torres Shelter.”
There is space in the motels for up to 20 individuals at a time using this model, Amaro said.
“If a person remains in the motels for the 14 day period, we are looking at potentially transitioning almost 40 people into the shelter, in one month, and have committed to use this transition model for a minimum of two months, possibly more, based on our census at the shelter,” she said.
“Social distancing mandates that we can only have 120 people in the shelter, so once we reach that capacity, we will end the program in mid to late March.”
Amaro said she is in “constant contact” with Butte County Public Health Department about sheltering protocol, and when the county moves into the next less restrictive tier, True North will consult with the department.
“Every day we learn new things about the virus,” she said. “I think that decisions to open the intake process would be made on current COVID-19 (positive and) exposed clients, impacts on staffing, and other information Public Health would take into consideration into making that decision.”
Safe Space
Marin Hambley works as project manager for Safe Space along with Siana Sonoquie and is a lead for Project Roomkey. While rooms are closed to new occupants, she said the nonprofit’s workers help provide case management and housing plans and operating a separate isolation program through Project Roomkey. For months this program has helped people referred from Enloe Medical
Center, Oroville Hospital and Butte County Public Health get sheltered in motel rooms for a short time from the date of their COVID-19 test or exposure.
Hambley added that after losing a proposal to open a permanent shelter at Carmichael Road in Chico, the nonprofit is working to identify another location for permanent sheltering given the need in the city. The nonprofit is also in contact with churches to create a temporary emergency alternative, after the Chico City Council approved the ability to emergency shelter in buildings like churches or enter a master lease with a service provider for a shelter.
If a church does agree to allow for a facility to be used for a temporary emergency shelter, it would be a “much smaller version” of Safe Space’s previous winter shelters, Hambley said.
Since the nonprofit is currently talking to two landlords of properties for a potential permanent shelter, Hambley is hopeful there will be an option very soon. A permit would be needed, but not necessarily a master lease with the city — it will depend on the agreement reached with a local landlord.
“Everything is moving forward and hopefully there’s not another surprise,” she said.