Simitian and Wasserman Push to Expand Cold Weather Shelter Services for the Homeless
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
San Jose – The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors today unanimously voted to take the first steps toward expanding the County’s Cold Weather Shelter Programs in Sunnyvale and Gilroy. The referral, authored by Supervisors Joe Simitian and Mike Wasserman, directs staff to create a plan to expand the cold weather season (currently four months long) to six months (October 15-April 15), and to expand the services provided at the Sunnyvale shelter.
“People need a place to go when the weather is cold and wet, it’s as simple as that,” said Simitian. “We want to make sure that folks have a place to lay their heads down when they need it; and the weather this winter was a potent reminder that it can be cold and wet in our Valley beyond the four months of shelter we’re currently providing.”
For more than 20 years, the County has funded its cold weather shelters from the first Monday after Thanksgiving through the end of March. While that timing covers a good portion of the cold weather season, it is shorter than state law allows for use of an armory like the one used in Gilroy; and it is inevitable that there are inclement weather episodes that fall outside the roughly December through March operating dates.
In fact, during the 2016-2017 cold weather season, there was more rain in April than in either December or March.
“We all remember the tragic winter in 2013 when four homeless men lost their lives in a single week,” said Simitian. “Having these shelters available throughout the cold seasons is key to making sure that doesn’t happen again.”
The expanded cold weather season would lengthen the operating times of the Sunnyvale shelter and the Gilroy Armory, allowing more homeless individuals to stay sheltered during rainy months.
The Board also directed staff to examine using some or all of the currently unused portion of the property in Sunnyvale to provide additional interim housing for people participating in permanent supportive housing programs. “I think we can help more people, and I think we can help them in a way that provides long term solutions,” said Simitian.
The proposal drew widespread support from community groups serving the homeless, including: Destination Home, HomeFirst, Bill Wilson Center, St. Joseph’s Family Center, West Valley Community Services, Sunnyvale Community Services, and LifeMoves.
“This is a great step forward in the fight against homelessness,” said Bruce Ives, CEO of LifeMoves. “The extension of our County’s Cold Weather Shelter Program, and the expansion of housing options at the cold weather facility in Sunnyvale, will both make a real and lasting impact.”
Beginning with the 2015-2016 cold weather season, County staff changed from a first-come, first-served system to a referral system at the cold weather shelters, and essentially allowed clients to reserve a bed throughout the entire season.
The increased stability was good for shelter neighbors, and it was good for shelter residents. In two of the three cold weather shelters that operated in the 2016-2017 season, performance goals for exiting clients into stable housing were exceeded.
“A cold weather shelter should be more than just a Band-Aid,” said Simitian. “It can provide sufficient stabilization for some clients to find the long-term housing they need. While they struggle to find housing, many of these people end up living unsheltered. Taking away the burden of looking for a safe place to rest every night frees precious time and energy to be redirected to finding long-term housing.”
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