During this past winter, Plowshares and the Ford Street Project made a major attempt to address this critical unmet social need in Mendocino County. On December 23, when it was extremely cold, the two agencies pushed for, and got, a shelter opened at the Ukiah Grange Hall on South State Street. Funding for the facility came from community donations and the emergency shelter contract between Ford Street and the County.
The shelter provided cots, blankets and meals to individuals and families. On the first night of operation, 15 people stayed there. The highest number was 32, on January 8. The shelter averaged 21 individuals per night. It remained open until January 10, when the Grange requested that the shelter cease operation as they needed the space for their own programs. When that happened, the homeless went back to sleeping under the freeway overpass, in cars, abandoned buildings and with assorted friends and acquaintances.
The Department of Social Services then requested that the Board of Supervisors allocate funds for another shelter for the rest of the winter. The Board, on January 25, approved $12,000 for Ford Street to operate a new shelter. But they wouldn't release the funds until a clear plan for the shelter operation was finalized.
On February 12, Ford Street signed a two-month lease agreement for space at 780 Waugh Lane, a former dance and Aikido studio. The shelter was to be open from 6:00 pm to 9:00 am with Ford Street providing on-site staffing. Though the primary emphasis was on sheltering single individuals and childless couples, there was a small area partitioned off as temporary shelter for families.
Representatives of the agencies planning the shelter knew of possible adverse reactions by neighbors of the proposed site, and had planned to meet with them prior to the shelter's opening to allay their fears. They asked the Ukiah Daily Journal to delay their story on the shelter for a day to allow Ford Street to contact the neighbors; the paper refused.
On February 19 the Journal ran a front-page story on the shelter, emphasizing the neighbors' concerns. Shortly after that, the City Planning Department advised Ford Street that the shelter could not open as it had not received a use permit. As the permit process would have taken several weeks, undermining the shelter's usefulness as a winter respite, Ford Street dropped plans to use the Waugh Lane site.
That loss was extremely disappointing to supporters of improved shelter services for the homeless. But there were a number of positive developments and folks learned some valuable lessons.
For example, the Board of Supervisors committed themselves to funding a homeless shelter; it was a test of staffing procedures; interagency collaboration methods improved; we clarified the permit process and, given the level of operation while the Grange was in use, the clear need for a shelter became apparent. That experience should facilitate opening a homeless shelter in Ukiah by next winter.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1999
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited