A recently formed advocacy group has been joined by state,
county and city officials in spearheading efforts to open a
homeless shelter at the National Guard Armory.
A recently formed advocacy group has been joined by state, county and city officials in spearheading efforts to open a homeless shelter at the National Guard Armory.
According to Marley Holte, a member of the advocacy consortium, the group hopes to open the shelter by November. The armory is located at the Hollister Municipal Airport.
Assemblyman Simon Salinas, D-Salinas, has also expressed support for the proposal. He met with members of the group and spoke with a National Guard representative, who said the armory is unoccupied from Oct. 15 to April 15. Those are especially crucial months for housing assistance because of the winter season.
“There’s a growing consensus that (community leaders) want to explore this possibility,” Salinas said of the armory building.
Salinas’ staff has begun to research the extent of state and federal grant funding available for such a project. He said obtaining funds from Proposition 46 remains a possibility.
Proposition 46 was passed on the November ballot and is designed to provide funding for emergency shelter beds for homeless people and battered women, along with safer housing for seniors and low-income families.
Community Services Workforce Development currently runs the only program exclusively for homeless people in the county – the Southside Migrant Labor Camp.
It is made up of 16 mobile-home units primarily serving seasonal farm workers. However, its residents can stay only up to six months, and the camp often maintains a long waiting list for families, according to Kathy Flores of CSWD.
Holte, a San Juan Bautista resident, said consortium members Thursday plan to tour the National Guard Armory in Gilroy, which operates a homeless facility from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily. He said group members will also tour Hollister’s National Guard Armory but no date has been set.
San Benito County and the City of Hollister representative are also taking part in the homeless shelter effort, including Supervisor Bob Cruz and staff from the city’s planning department.
Two Hollister building officials toured the Gilroy armory Feb. 11 and came away impressed by its organization.
“I’m pretty much dumfounded to see what they (Gilroy) can do,” said Tim Burns, the city’s code enforcement officer.
On any given night it is common for 20 of the 150 residents staying at the Gilroy armory to be from Hollister, said Burns, who talked extensively with organizers of the Gilroy shelter.
In the time between now and potentially opening a shelter in Hollister, Burns said the governmental agencies and community leaders should consider providing transportation for homeless people from Hollister to the Gilroy facility.
Leaders involved in the advocacy group include representatives from the United Way, Fishes and Loaves, Community Pantry, the Salvation Army, Victim/Witness, Jovenes de Antano and the CSWD.
The proposed name for the group is the Homeless Assistance Consortium. Members have met twice and the next meeting is scheduled for March 19.
“Both (meetings) went very well,” Holte said. “We’ve had good support. Everyone is willing to do what it takes. It’s falling into place.”
Pauline Valdivia, executive director of Jovenes de Antano said, “It’s the beginning right now of getting something in place.”
