Hollister
– As the county’s homeless shelter winds down for the season,
organizers are looking for ways to open again next year and expand
in years to come.
Hollister – As the county’s homeless shelter winds down for the season, organizers are looking for ways to open again next year and expand in years to come.
The shelter on Southside Road, which sleeps 24 people in six rooms leased from the migrant worker camp, has been open from the end of November to mid-March for the past two years.
On Friday, the San Benito County Homeless Task Force reapplied for the $140,000 federal grant used to start the shelter. The group also met this week with prospective board members to discuss long-term goals and fundraising.
The task force is trying to turn the shelter into a place where the county’s homeless can find help getting on their feet permanently, chairwoman Kathy Ruiz said. The five-member task force is looking to become a permanent board, she said.
In addition to its traditional shelter, the group would like to offer transitional housing and more education and substance abuse services to combat what Ruiz said is a growing problem in San Benito County.
“Those are the things that by having a larger board we can look to in the future,” Ruiz said.
Ruiz and Leigh Dietz, the shelter’s executive director, said the task force would also like to eventually move the shelter closer to town than its present rural location. But organizers are worried Hollister residents will be reluctant to allow the shelter within close proximity of city limits.
Dietz said some people tend to have a “not in my neighborhood” attitude: “It’s nice, it’s good that it’s here, but not in my back yard,” she said.
It costs $72,000 annually to operate the shelter. It is open from 6pm to 6am, with free bus service, free laundry and free meals.
In its first season, the shelter served 77 different people, Dietz said. She said she is still compiling numbers from this season, but said the shelter averaged up to 22 people a night during January’s cold spell.
Shelter services include behavioral health, substance abuse, legal, veterans, job and dental clinics, offered through other county agencies and nonprofit organizations.
There are approximately 35 organizations and families that cook dinner for the shelter’s residents every night, Dietz said. Both paid county staff and volunteers help run the shelter.
The task force is making plans for a second “Jazz Under the Stars” fundraiser at Ridgemark Golf and Country Club on July 21. Dietz said last year’s event drew 300 people and raised more than $10,000 for the shelter.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected].
