Local advocates must tally the population in order to get
outside funds
The San Benito Homeless Coalition conducted a census of the
homeless population Wednesday morning, a first step to being able
to qualify for Housing and Urban Development funding in the
future.
Executive Director Cindy Parr recruited volunteers who paired
off with a client from the homeless shelter to go out at 5:30 a.m.
to the dark corners of the county where homeless residents camp
out.
Local advocates must tally the population in order to get outside funds
The San Benito Homeless Coalition conducted a census of the homeless population Wednesday morning, a first step to being able to qualify for Housing and Urban Development funding in the future.
Executive Director Cindy Parr recruited volunteers who paired off with a client from the homeless shelter to go out at 5:30 a.m. to the dark corners of the county where homeless residents camp out.
The early-morning timing is because “they scatter early in the morning or go recycle,” Parr said. “That time in the morning, they are still at their camps.”
The count includes clients who stay at the shelter regularly, those who stay at Emmaus House, the families who are sheltered in the Workforce and Community Development’s winter shelter program, as well as those who stay on the streets.
“We have to participate every year in a census,” Parr said.
The tally from the Wednesday morning census was not available at press time.
An unofficial census was led last year by Randy Brown, a member of the Homeless Coalition board. Parr said the numbers came in at 481, but that did not include Emmaus House or the family winter shelter.
“We will hit the different tracks in San Benito County,” Parr said. “We will go out literally to spots where the homeless go.”
The census tracking will be improved if the agency receives a community foundation grant to purchase a Homeless Management Information System. Doug Emerson, a city council member and board member for the Homeless Coalition, wrote the grant application. The system would be used by four agencies, including local law enforcement.
“We have to have that in place in order to get the continuum of care,” Parr said.
The federal government has grants available through Housing and Urban Development through what they refer to as continuum of care homeless programs. San Benito is not part of a continuum of care, but Parr is working with Monterey County to include San Benito under that county’s umbrella so that it will be eligible for federal grants in the future.
Parr added that the continuum of care is focused not just on emergency shelters, but on addressing the long-term issue of homelessness.
“It’s all part of the HUD requirements,” Parr said. “It will get us more funding down the road.”
The focus for the Homeless Coalition continues to be a permanent facility that would be open year round. Parr mentioned a recent news broadcast about a Gilroy property owner who is looking to donate a warehouse in that city for a homeless shelter.
“You think of all the empty buildings just sitting there,” Parr said. “All it’s going to take is an owner of one of those buildings to say, ‘I have this not in use,’ and donate it.”
For now, the more immediate needs include an ongoing supply of paper products, such as toilet paper, comforters, socks and men’s clothing. When the close of the shelter approaches, Parr said they would like donations of sleeping bags and small tents.
So far this year at the homeless shelter, Parr said they have checked in 45 new clients, on top of the returning clients who have stayed in past years.
The shelter is open from Nov. 1 to March 31, and Parr said in past years at this point they have seen 30 new clients.
“I can’t tell you how many are young, 18-, 19-, 20-year-olds,” Parr said. “At lot of them, it’s their lack of employment and parents kicking them out. They are graduating high school and can’t get a job.”
The number of clients who stay fluctuates night to night, but Parr said they have been at capacity with 28 clients some nights.
“We are full,” Parr said. “We are at capacity, but we’ve been at capacity the last few years, especially in January.”
Parr said the trend of younger clients at the homeless shelter is new. One of the things she and the other staff members do is check e-mails of job listings for the younger clients and others that are interested in finding employment. The staff offers help with resumes and also provides transportation to job interviews.
In addition to the help with job searches, some agencies come up to the shelter and provide other services. San Benito County Mental Health staff members visit the shelter every Monday. Pinnacle Health Care gave staff gave free flu shots at the shelter. San Benito Health Foundation does medical and dental screenings, and offers referrals for treatment. Legal aid staff members visit the shelter and there is even a hair stylist who donates haircuts.
“This year we got the packets for them to apply for food stamps so we have them accessible at the shelter,” Parr said. “We have the van. If they need a ride to that appointment, we take them.”
The van was donated in November by the San Benito County Local Transportation Authority.
“It is the only vehicle we are using,” Parr said.
This year Parr also wanted to find a way for the clients to volunteer in the community. The Homeless Coalition adopted two stretches of highway in the counting for clean ups. They have four miles along Hwy. 156, from Flint Road to the San Benito Bridge, as well as a stretch of Hwy. 25, from the back gate of Ridgemark to Stonegate. The first clean up was Jan. 22.
“The van will come in really handy for that,” Parr said.
Parr added that much of what keeps the shelter going are donations from individual residents.
“We want to get a huge thank you to the community for supporting us this year,” she said. “We partnered with Monterey Peninsula Foundation. For every donation made, they offered (to match it) 15 percent.”
For more information or to donate, call Cindy Parr, executive director, Homeless Coalition, at 801-9531.
