HomeMy WebLinkAbout102125 email - Encampment EmergencyALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Good afternoon,
The days are quickly passing, and I have no information as to a delay in the closure of the encampment. I reviewed Viola's
E-mail as to the Warming Center and there is no reason to disagree. However, it does not address the emergency at hand. I think the time for discussions are over and we must agree on
a plan now, albeit not necessarily what we all would want. Therefore, Bayside, by the first of November could house the following:
3-5 campers at Woodley proper
5 -7 campers at the back lot of Woodley Place for those living in their cars or tents
3 women and 5 men at the downtown shelter
3 campers at both Pete's and Pat's Place
We could also use our San Juan property, but it would require temporary permitting unless the emergency housing ordinance could be employed.
Olycap may be able to take some campers at Caswell-Brown.
In total these sites could take most of the campers, as some campers will want to remain independent. Wherever we are able to move these people we must address their mental health and
substance abuse issues. With the cooperation of Discovery Bay Behavioral Healthcare, Jefferson County Public Health, Olycap, and Bayside we can provide case management.
We will be preparing a minimum budget for the costs associated with this option/plan.
I am further concerned that using law enforcement to displace the encampment will lead to arrests and citations which create criminal records making it even harder for these people to
get jobs and housing.
As stated in the meeting last Friday, if we as a community don't find a successful strategy, we will be fighting this problem indefinitely. No one wants that, yet the only alternative
is to act boldly and to act now.
Bottom line, we must invest in resources, as the only successful programs create housing units and provide comprehensive case management. Our state's Encampment Resolution Program moved
75% of participants into housing and funded hundreds of new housing units. We can do!
Respectively,
Gary Keister
Bayside Housing & Services