In a heartwarming display of community cooperation and can-do
attitude, a winter shelter will open it’s doors to the county’s
homeless this weekend.
In a heartwarming display of community cooperation and can-do attitude, a winter shelter will open it’s doors to the county’s homeless this weekend.
What’s especially gratifying is this project is about to become a reality because the leaders in our local government had an abrupt change of heart that made it possible.
Until recently, the city and county governments took turns pointing the finger at each other saying the homeless were not their problem. They were obstacles to making a shelter a reality. But after the new members of the Hollister City Council took their seats this year, that all started to change.
Earlier this year, in a renewed spirit of cooperation, Supervisor Pat Loe and Hollister City Councilmen Brad Pike and Doug Emerson joined with Fishes and Loaves, homeless advocate Marley Holte and local churchgoers to make a shelter a reality. They formed the Homeless Task Force, secured state and city funding and refurbished the migrant camp on Southside Road.
“I’ve never worked with a group of people so eager … just doing a beautiful job,” said Kathy Ruiz, chairwoman of the Homeless Task Force. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
As a result of their hard work, the overnight shelter will give up to 28 people a place to sleep during cold, wet winter nights. Once open, the county’s homeless will be able to use the shelter from 6pm to 6am through mid-March.
But it will do more than that. The facility will offer dinners provided by many local churches and myriad services such as mental health, employment and medical services.
With the weather getting cold and rain increasingly in the forecast, the timing for the opening of the shelter could not be better.
They say that the true measure of a society is the compassion it shows for its least fortunate members. By that standard, San Benito County truly will achieve a milestone with the opening of this shelter and we all should be proud of the caring people who made it happen.
