LAKEPORT >> A constant the last few years has been a jump in inflation challenging those living paycheck-to-paycheck, but Lake County took action to give a hand up to those where a rising tide almost drowned them in bills, never mind float their boats.
The Board of Supervisors voted to draft a resolution declaring an Emergency Declaration for a Shelter crisis on Nov. 14. The board passed it 4 to 0 with District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier casting a vote on Zoom from Alameda County where he and Chair Jessica Pyska were attending the California State Association of Counties’ annual meeting.
With escalating numbers of the unhoused proliferating, in January 2023 the Board passed the original Emergency Declaration. That measure provided a warming /cooling shelter for an overnight stay in the former Juvenile Hall to guard against effects of severe weather. Yet District 4 Supervisor Michael Green, who had worked with Sabatier on the original resolution, realized the county needed to expand the mission, so the warming shelter was not tied to inclement weather.
Rather than relying on whims of prevailing jet streams provoking unstable weather, Green wanted to justify a state of emergency to help those exposed to the elements.. “Basically, it was an emergency for people without housing,” Green said. That planted a seed of an idea and Green examined what the next iteration of a shelter could be.
“So, today before you is a 2.0 version of the shelter crisis, and we added language after consulting with county counsel, adhering to the government health and safety codes,” Green said. He went on, in this crisis, board action invoked Code Section 8698 and 8698.2, which gives local government ability to declare a shelter crisis and have some flexibility if needed, operating an emergency shelter.
In a related agenda item, Elise Jones, Lake County Behavioral Health Services director presented an agreement between the County of Lake, the Behavioral Health Services Department, as the lead entity for Lake County Continuum of Care for the contractor Redwood Community Services, Inc., to assume management of the emergency shelter. The proposed services are guided by the Housing and Homeless Incentive grant program and the Homeless Housing Assistance program, California Government Code 65583(4) and 24 CFR 576.403.
“This is a new shelter contract,” Jones said. “Currently, the shelter is operated on an interim basis by Blue Horizons- and a long history of organizations who managed the shelter. But the biggest difference in this shelter contract is that its transitioning from overnight stays to 24/7 operations.”
Funding for the contract is through the county’s Continuum of Care as well as awarded grants. Sabatier pointed out this contract includes case management professionals in comparison to the previous contract. “That is a huge adjustment to ensure we are moving people along, not just keeping them in the shelter, through housing navigation or other services they may require,” Sabatier said. “Case management is going to be crucial to providing exactly what these individuals need.”
District 3 Supervisor Eddie Crandell questioned if the program is similar to the Building Bridges model that Redwood Community Services runs in Mendocino County. It was not only similar but Sage Wolf, who runs Redwood Integrated Health Services was present. Wolf explained that since 2015 they have been doing emergency shelter but in Nov. 2019, they transitioned to a 24/7 model.
Wolf noted some key differences with the proposed Lakeport transition. “Mainly the facility in Ukiah is in the city proper and centrally located,” she said. “It’s open to the public during the day so people not staying at the shelter can access services and resources. Ukiah is also a congregate arrangement, where you have 55 people together in the same space.”
But hearing that, Green pointed out the congregate model is more likely to incur daily unusual occurrences as prior Lake County shelters experienced aberrant behavior. Although congregate settings seemed to invite trouble, Green remained supportive of transitioning to a 24/7 model. “For the sake of future contracts, we need to drill down on the liability carried into these facilities and make sure Lake County parse correctly what the county’s responsibilities are and what the contractors’ are,” he cautioned.
Lakeport Chief of Police Brad Rasmussen spoke in favor of the project during a public comment period. “We have numerous unhoused residents in Lakeport who use shelter services,” he said. “It has been critical over the past year to have it available. One gap we saw was not having it 24/7. But this contract will correct that. It’s going to be a huge improvement that I am happy to see and I want thank all the partners for their hard work.”
Redwood Community Services is slated to take over management of the shelter on December 15 or sooner. The contract calls for Continuum of Care to be allocated. $ 2, 417, 489 to operate the shelter for a period through June 30, 2026. But Sage Wolf cautioned that funding will only partially support the program and they need to braid a cohort of grants to carry the shelter to 2026 and beyond.
