Back in late January, the Torres Community Shelter had money problems that almost forced it to close. It was counting on a government grant, the Emergency Solutions Grant Program, that didn’t materialize. Only after the shelter decided to come forth to the public and ask for donations did people respond.
Homeless shelters all over the country face similar financial problems, which sometimes results in the closure of vital shelters. Most shelters rely on federal or private grants and donations, but funding isn’t always available.
At the Torres Shelter last year, the average number of guests per night was between 80-90. In the last months, more than 100 people have shown up every single night, creating additional expenses amounting to about $25 per day per person.
If people are going to be left on the street, it will cost Chico on average anywhere from $25,000 and $35,000 dollars per person a year, according to the Torres Shelter's executive director, Brad Montgomery.
Many California communities have problems housing the homeless.
Last year in San José, for example, 4,063 people were counted as homeless. About 69 percent were unsheltered, 778 people were living in encampments and 31 percent were in shelters, according to San José's homeless point-in-time census for 2015.
San Francisco’s 2015 homeless point-in-time census showed a homeless population of 6,686. In all, 1,569 were unaccompanied children. The overall numbers showed an increase in homelessness from 2013 to 2015.
According to the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority homeless count, in 2015 there was a total of 25,686 homeless individuals in the city. The majority, 17,687, were unsheltered and the remaining almost 8,000 were in shelters.
In Chico, the homeless population has actually dropped from 2011 to 2015. In 2011, the total homeless population was 1,043 and in 2015 was 571, according to the Butte Countywide Homeless Continuum of Care 2015 point-in-time census.
Because of large increases of unsheltered homeless populations throughout the U.S., California cities like San Jose and Oakland have declared states of emergency, Los Angeles is considering it.
Most shelters rely on government funding. When that falls through, they reach out to the public in order to save themselves from a potential closure.
"Without a safe, sober environment, the likelihood of people transitioning their life from the current state to… into something bigger or better is really not possible."
-Amber Abney, Jesus Center Director of Development
As an attempt to address this issue, President Obama’s fiscal year budget, targeting an end to homelessness for 2017, requested $5.5 billion in assistance across federal agencies, according to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, through the creation of 25,500 new units of permanent supportive housing.
In 2010, a program called Open Doors presented by the same council was implemented, generating around only $3,792 in funds for homeless assistance programs and in 2016 proposed $5,846 to be funded across the U.S.
If homeless shelters were to close, said Amber Abney, director of development for Chico’s Jesus Center, people would become desperate.
“You know these are human beings. They have basic human needs and without service providers being able to help them with those things,” she said. “They would certainly be going into a further state of survival mode.”
· "People become desperate, you know, these are human beings. They have basic human needs and without service providers being able to help them with those things…they would certainly be going into a further state of survival mode."
-Amber Abney, Jesus Center Director of Development
Earlier this month, Enloe Medical Center made a one-time donation of $20,000 to the Torres Shelter.
“Ultimately, the result of exposure on this vulnerable population would further stretch the limited resources of the medical center’s Emergency Department staff and facilities,” said Enloe’s CEO Mike Wiltermood, according to a Torres Shelter press release. “This one-time gift is made with the intent of avoiding closure as Torres Shelter leadership work toward a sustainable solution to year-round funding.”
In contrast, the Jesus Center is about 97 percent funded by private donors and the remaining percent consists of specific grants that help keep successful projects they create available. It avoids too much dependence on grants.
“We don’t chase funds and then create a program. There’s a lot of grants out there,” Abney said. “We don’t find a funding opportunity and then create a justification for application.”
