When the Hollister City Council canceled their meeting to
discuss creating a homeless shelter Tuesday Night, Marley Holte
knew Hollister’s homeless would be on the street for at least
another year.
When the Hollister City Council canceled their meeting to discuss creating a homeless shelter Tuesday Night, Marley Holte knew Hollister’s homeless would be on the street for at least another year.
“It’s frustrating,” he said.
Meanwhile, city and county officials are pointing fingers about who should take responsibility for finding a building to house the shelter. When the city voted against allowing him to use the National Guard Armory last November, it put him past this year’s federal grant application deadline. As founder of Community Assistance Program, a nonprofit organization that holds Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for the homeless, Holte was eligible to receive a federal grant for $345,000, but before he can apply he has to have a building to house the project. He’s still adamant about applying again in 2005, but the time delay by the county and city will cost him $100,000 that has been cut from the grant.
“Everyone verbally has been supportive, but action wise, no one has helped in finding a building,” Holte said.
While the county and city appreciate Holte’s efforts, no one has stepped up to tackle the problem of finding a location.
“If everything would have worked out, we would probably have a place by now,” Holte said. “I’ve been getting a lot of ‘you’re doing good things, Marley’ and ‘you’re really making a difference,’ but I need the city and the county to work together.”
Supervisor Bob Cruz isn’t convinced the armory shouldn’t be used and was upset about the city’s decision not to allow Holte access to the building.
“I know for a fact the armory can be released to Marley,” Cruz said. “Myself and Marley have been to the shelter in Gilroy and when we looked at the sign-up sheet there were people from San Juan, Hollister, Morgan Hill and even Santa Clara. All he is asking for is three months out of the year during the winter. We need to provide the people with a place to go.”
Gilroy uses its armory to house homeless people, Holte said. In 14 years at that location, he said, there has never been a problem and it’s located next to a school.
“The feeling seems to be that no matter where it goes, it’s going to bring troubles with it, and I don’t agree with that,” Holte said.
Cruz said the effort to provide Holte with building options should be something the city and the county work on together.
City Councilman Robert Scattini agrees and said it’s time people come together and start working on a plan to get the project rolling.
“We can build an animal shelter but we leave the homeless people out in the cold?” he said. “I feel very sorry for the people and I’m very adamant about helping.”
Both county and city officials commend Holte for his hard work and agreed the entities should work together, but they are unsure who should spearhead the effort.
Mayor Tony Bruscia said the city doesn’t have a legal obligation to build a homeless shelter, but there is a moral obligation to help the 60 to 80 homeless people in the area. He’s confident someone in the community will come up with a way of making Holte’s goal a reality.
“Homelessness affects the whole community and should be something the whole community works on,” he said. “I’m sure someone will come up with a plan.”
