CHAT holds forum for Everhart Village
CHICO » Chico Housing Action Team held a public Zoom forum for Everhart Village, a planned temporary shelter community, Wednesday evening.
The site will be located off Cohasset Road between DaVita Dialysis Center and the Butte County Behavioral Health building on a portion of land CHAT has acquired from the county. The planned establishment is being done in collaboration with CHAT, Butte County Behavioral Health and Butte County Department of Employment and Social Services. When the site begins serving its purpose as short-term housing to homeless with behavioral health issues, social services will also be provided.
“We recognized early on with this particular project that it would involve multiple county departments,” said Don Taylor, Housing and Homeless Administrator with Butte County Department of Employment and Social Services.
Taylor said with 23 different departments within the county, his role is to help coordinate.
When asked its similarity to other shelter villages, Taylor said Everhart Village was setting a precedent.
“I haven’t seen this level of coordination between public and private agencies. In several of the other villages that you’ve seen come up, they’ve been almost completely private or they’ve been almost completely public,” Taylor said. “The fact that we’ve got a public-private partnership is really a testament to the strength of all the partners wanting to make something happen for the community.”
CHAT Program Manager Amber Benedict said the program isn’t permanent housing, it’s technically emergency sheltering with the intention of being a full-fledged step toward permanent housing for those needing assistance.
“The program is designed to support people who are unhoused and have been diagnosed with a mental illness,” Benedict said. “Everhart Village will provide sleeping cabins and social services for 20 to 24 people for six months, with the goal of transitioning them into safe and stable housing.”
Aside from the sleeping cabins, Benedict said there will be a community building with two full-size bathrooms including showers, two washers and dryers, a kitchen, a resource library with computers and an office for case management.
Benedict added Everhart Village is being designed for a more-welcoming feel compared to a shelter.
“Sleeping cabins are designed to feel like home.
They’ll include heating and cooling, a bed with storage underneath, a toilet, a table and a chair, a small refrigerator, a microwave and a sink,” Benedict said. “Each cabin will have small porches with lighting creating a feeling of community.”
As for security, Benedict said there will be two staff members involved who conduct perimeter checks and maintain a watch over the site.
There will also be security cameras viewable onsite for staff in the community building or off-site through an internet connection.
“Me as the program manager, if I’m across town doing something, I will also then have access to check on everything that’s going on within the village,” Benedict said.
Director of Butte County Behavioral Health Scott Kennelly was also present at the forum, providing details into the department’s role. Kennelly said mental health services will be providing outreach, engagement and work to encourage those on the streets to begin making the steps to getting back on their feet.
Kennelly added with the services available, he sees it as being a great community asset.
“I’ve never seen a fully integrated campus where you have one stop shopping with everything on site. You’re not requiring people to go elsewhere to get what they need,” Kennelly said. “You have services coming in or literally within walking distance. That’s something unique, I think to Butte County and what makes it innovative.”
During their stay, the “villagers” as CHAT refers to those staying, will work through four phases. The first is basic needs, which gives villagers time to get used to the facility and the program. Villagers will have case management with basic goal plans and a signed program agreement.
During the second phase, villagers will work on building goals for permanent housing. Case management will assist with retrieving needed documents in establishing resources and villagers will be required to schedule and arrive on time for appointments, participate in chores for the facility and participate in at least one group activity a week.
The third phase is about transitioning villagers from sleeping cabins to an offsite home which Benedict said would be “likely shared with roommates.”
Preparation for the transition includes educating and connecting the villagers to available housing assistance programs.
Phase four is ensuring a successful transition into permanent housing for villagers. Case management will help with the moving process and continue to check in for a few months afterward.
At Tuesday’s Chico City Council meeting, a request from Councilor Deepika Tandon to waive a $40,000 sewer fee for Everhart Village was approved by council 7-0.
A GoFundMe called the Road to Home will launch Thursday. CHAT is hoping to raise $100,000 for road building into the future site which will allow access for emergency vehicles if needed.
While no date has been firmly established, Benedict said they are hoping to be up and running by spring.