LAKE COUNTY ? A working group of about 25 met Monday at Clearlake City Hall to discuss homelessness on a countywide level. Volunteers representing a multitude of interests brought ideas to the table to address immediate as well as long term plans for aiding the homeless of the community.
“This is the first meeting we had that we had everybody from the county together,” Clearlake City Councilwoman Joyce Overton, who is a leader in the effort said. “We realize homelessness is more than just a Clearlake problem. It”s countywide.”
The focus of Monday”s summit was identifying current and available resources as well as needs for long term success in the effort. As a result of the discussion two sub-committees were formed. One committee will focus on shelter while the other will focus on food and clothing.
“People put out on the table different ways we can create a homeless shelter or emergency shelter before the coming winter,” Overton said. “Our first goal is to decide how we will be able to ensure that they get food and clothing. Those are two things we want to get done in the next 30 days.”
People representing interests in social services, transitional housing, food banks, youth, churches, drug and alcohol rehabilitation and other community services are contributing to the effort. “I see this at the grassroots. I see that this is the beginning of a short term plan to take care of the homeless for the winter,” Georgina Lehne, executive director of Lake County Community Action Agency (LCCAA) said. “The nice thing about today is it brought together a unique group of people that already bring services to the county.”
Overton said the group aims to develop a 10 year plan to end homelessness. The more community input she said the better. “Anybody is invited to come to our meetings. The more input we have the easier it will be to accomplish our goals,” she said. “It”s important to have the public involved. We hope that people from the community will sign on to help with developing the 10 year plan.”
The effort will continue with sub-committee meetings scheduled for Sept. 29 at Clearlake City Hall. The food and clothing committee will meet at 4 p.m. followed by the shelter committee at 5 p.m. On Oct. 7 a summit meeting will bring all involved back to the table at 9 a.m. at city hall.
The long term goal of the effort is to have a permanent shelter and appropriate services in place. Those interested in contributing to the effort should contact Joyce Overton at overton@hotmail.com or Georgina Lehne at 995-2920, ext. 101.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
