Jesus Center ceasing food, mail services; focus on sober shelter
CHICO >> Long considered a hub for emergency meals and basic needs, things will change for the future at Jesus Center when its Renewal Center is unveiled in April.
According to a letter to participants, the center is ending its meal and mail services to “focus our programs to provide strengths based, trauma informed care model and co-locating critical services that more folks can move from suffering to stable housing and an abundant life (sic).” In a news release, decreased participant numbers, the need to collaborate with other organizations, work on other proposed projects and limited capacity for resources were given as reasons to change the meal service model.
The focus is on 24/7 sober sheltering, as the center moves to 2255 Fair St., north of the Silver Dollar
Fairgrounds, the former home of the Work Training Center. The center will expand the substance-free Sabbath House with 35 beds for women and 25 for men, totaling 60 beds of shelter.
Drop-in services at the former Park Avenue location
will end March 31. Mail service will be transferred to the United States Postal Service branch in Chico.
Daily meals handed out at the center will also cease on the same date, and the center encouraged people to call Butte 211 for aid.
Executive Director Laura Cootsona said, “The perspective is we’ve been working on this for four years and really excited to be able to focus our program to really help people all the way through their process of regaining their independence.” She said she is thankful for independent donors collaborating on this project, adding it has not been city, county or state funded.
Although the meals provided, showers and mail handling were services people have depended on, Cootsona said the mail service is “actually good news” that the Postmaster will take the service on. She said shower resources have not been offered during the pandemic, either, although suggested Haven of Hope Oroville might be providing those services into Chico and the Center may be collaborating with the nonprofit.
Three meals will be offered to people who are in the sober sheltering program along with the center’s provision of regular meals to Project Roomkey. Cootsona added the center has also proposed giving meals to people where they are sheltering in the community through an outreach approach, proposing using new COVID-19 relief funds to partner with two other agencies to provide food for those organizations.
“If a group goes out in an encampment and tending to medical needs and behavioral health needs, that they would be able to have not just chips and drinks to hand out, but real healthy shelf stable (food),” she said.
The next steps in the timeline will be:
• April 2021 — Move the Jesus Center operations to Fair Street.
• Summer 2021 — Begin construction on west side of Fair Street for the Renewal Center.
• Summer 2022 — Open the Renewal Center
Anyone transferring mail services must use the following address: General Delivery: 550 Vallambrosa Ave., Chico, CA 95926.