After almost a decade without a year-round shelter, the 5Cities Homeless Coalition (5CHC) just received the funding to set up an emergency shelter in a permanent location.
During its Sept. 26 meeting, the Arroyo Grande City Council voted unanimously to allocate $100,000 to help 5CHC do just that.
Janna Nichols, 5CHC’s executive director, said the city has been supportive for many years, and it feels good to have the money to help support their need for a shelter that can open in adverse weather conditions.
“The purpose of a warming center is very different from some other shelters in that it really is an attempt to keep people alive and out of the elements,” Nichols said. “We are looking forward to potentially locating a permanent location that will provide a variety of opportunities that we might not currently have.”
This funding comes from a $300,000 pot of money Arroyo Grande set aside for homeless shelter support after receiving $4.3 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) during COVID-19.
The nonprofit has operated a winter warming center since 2015, but in that time, there hasn’t been a permanent location for a shelter and the warming centers could only operate for four to five months a year due to the limited availability of shelter space in the community, according to 5CHC’s winter shelter proposal plan.
“[A lack of a permanent shelter] has been a perpetual problem that we had for the last 10 years, so if we can find a permanent location and get that settled, we’re very anxious to do so and we’re working on that,” Nichols said. “The main thing is we now have at least the funding support by which we’ll be able to operate the facility.”
Nichols said at 5CHC is currently looking for locations but hasn’t secured a permanent facility yet.
“We are in preparation and currently planning to operate this coming winter, beginning Nov. 1,” Nichols said. “We are working on a permanent location but that isn’t going to be ready in time for the winter rains, so we’re going to be at least looking initially at opening at a temporary location.” Δ
This article appears in Autumn Arts Annual 2023.