The City of Hollister will likely join a community-wide effort
to complete construction of a playground at the Southside seasonal
homeless shelter.
The City of Hollister will likely join a community-wide effort to complete construction of a playground at the Southside seasonal homeless shelter.
The agenda for the Jan. 21 City Council meeting includes a proposal to donate $10,000 to the project organized by the Community Services Development Corp.
The entire construction cost of the plan that CSDC Executive Director Brian Abbott called “pretty far along” is estimated at $43,000. Several other agencies have already donated to the effort, including $18,057 from San Benito County. CSDC has obtained 75 percent of its goal for donations.
The playground, designed for children ages 2 to 12, will include see-saws, a modular play system, a flippo bouncer, benches, picnic tables and other items.
“There has been tremendous community support,” Abbott said. “It’s clearly a community-wide effort. And I’m happy to see the city is going to join in on that.”
He mentioned other donors, such as Sacred Heart Parish School and numerous local businesses. CSDC also received an emergency shelter grant of $2,500.
The city’s likely donation would go toward playground equipment and other materials to complete the project.
“It’s an extremely important project,” Abbott said. “There has been a lot of research that says children who are homeless are delayed in physical and social development. These are avenues for children to develop those skills.”
The non-profit CSDC was founded in 1984 and – in cooperation with the Community Workforce and Development Agency – operates the shelter, which primarily houses migrant workers. It consists of 16 mobile homes on about one acre of land and provides temporary housing for 32 to 35 families and approximately 90 homeless children per year, according to a CSDC report.
Abbott said the playground equipment should be in place in the next week or two.
CSDC has also contracted with Women in Construction to construct a playhouse addition to the grounds. The entire project should be completed by early April, Abbott said.
The Council would have voted on the resolution Monday, but Councilwoman Pauline Valdivia, who strongly supports the project, suggested using Redevelopment Agency funds as opposed to money from the city’s general fund.
“We should do anything we can to help our homeless children,” Valdivia said.
