Church representatives propose warming center plan to supervisors

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – An association of local churches wants to open a warming center to assist the homeless, and representatives of the group discussed their plans with the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday morning.

While the board wasn't called upon to take any formal action, supervisors did voice support for exploring the plan and getting more details to see how the county can offer assistance.

Rev. Shannon Kimbell-Auth, president of the Lake Ministerial Association and pastor of United Christian Parish in Lakeport, Pastor Randy Brehms of the Lakeport Seventh-day Adventist Church and Taylor Johnson, a member of the Lakeport Seventh-day Adventist Church, appeared before the board to explain their proposal.

“Typically we don't get accurate counts of homelessness,” Johnson explained. “Homelessness has always kind of been framed as an urban issue and not so much a rural issue, and therefore it often is undercounted.”

She said studies also indicate that rural homelessness also presents itself differently.

In January, 170 people in Lake County were identified as being homeless, she said. Roughly half of those counted said it was their first time being homeless, and many of them reported being homeless for an extended period of time.

The top five causes reported for homelessness in Lake County are job loss, alcohol or substance abuse, family crisis or break up, mental illness and economic reasons, Johnson said.

The majority of Lake County's homeless are white non-Hispanic males, Johnson said, with about 16 percent of them being veterans and more than 33 percent reporting domestic violence or abuse in their lifetimes.

She said homelessness is surprisingly expensive for municipalities and taxpayers, with the homeless making frequent use of emergency services. Criminal justice resources also are used, as many homeless spend time in jail or prison.

“It all adds up really quickly,” she said.

She said emergency shelters aren't ideal, and aren't as cost-effective as other interventions, but they are effective in emergency circumstances.

The plan, she said, is to open a warming center, which is a short-term emergency shelter for people to sleep and stay warm. They will be provided with a small meal, and there will be efforts to connect them with services.

The group also plans to work to gather information in the intake process. “My hope is that with our intake process we will be able to really help the county in making some better informed decisions when it comes to homelessness,” Johnson said.

They intend to form a network of volunteers from other churches and organizations to serve at the shelter, she said.

Once the shelter is open, it would serve a hot, simple dinner and warm drinks, and a “grab and go” breakfast for guests. She said there also would be transportation to the church from centralized locations and showers on a first-come, first-served basis.

They want to be operational as soon as possible and run through April 1, she said.

She said the effort's needs include funds; at least two personnel per night, as well as kitchen and cleanup volunteers; transportation; food supply; cots and bedding; and warm clothing such as socks, hats, gloves and sweats.

Brehms said the facility most capable of handling the warming shelter is his church, located at 1111 Park Way, which hosted a Valley fire evacuation shelter.

Because the church isn't centrally located in town, Brehms said transportation would be needed to take those in need to the church. He suggested Lake Transit could pick people up at a given point for transport.

He said the churches in the middle of Lakeport aren't big enough to meet the need. “This is the problem we have.”

The plan calls for the shelter to be open from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily, Brehms said.

Adventist Community Services has been operating a storefront in the Willow Tree Plaza on 11th Street in Lakeport, where it continues to serve between 20 and 40 families a day who have been impacted by the Valley fire with free food and clothing.

Brehms said the warming center “is an absolute critical need.”

Kimbell-Auth said the group of churches is prepared to move forward on the plan, although they still haven't sorted out how to fund it, nor do they know how many people will need the assistance. She said she doesn't think getting food will be a problem.

“Do you have issues that you have not heard us address that you want us to speak to before we move forward?” she asked.

Board Chair Anthony Farrington said the board had “all sorts of issues,” and raised concerns about a separation of church and state.

Noting the recent cold temperatures, Supervisor Rob Brown said he appreciated the churches taking on the matter, but cautioned that a lot of things have good intentions but also consequences.

He cited the warming center Lake Family Resource Center operated winter before last in Clearlake, and pointed out that issues arose with the operation of that facility. “There had to be a reason they didn’t do it last year.”

Johnson said Lake Family Resource Center didn't continue with the warming shelter after deciding it wasn't within the organization's mission statement, and it was causing them to pull resources and staff away from other programs.

Brown, who had worked overnight at the Lake Family Resource Center warming shelter on a few occasions, said security is an issue.

As for Farrington's church and state concerns, Brown said, “I'm not hung up on this church and state thing. I think we’re all in this together.”

Brehms said the federal government has been proactive in engaging with faith-based ministries in such circumstances, explaining that the separation issue is more about establishing some sort of a religious test for services.

He said the idea that 12 to 13 churches involved in the effort had come together was huge all by itself.

The community service the churches have undertaken is a big task, but also a big blessing, said Brehms, recalling working with the local Mormon church to staff and run his church's evacuation center.

“This is something that actually draws the community together,” Brehms said, noting it's not really a religious issue so much as a service issue.

Brown said the board needed to hear specific numbers so it could know what kinds of financial needs the effort would have, and where the county could possibly find the money. He said he believed the county is going to be “working from check to check for a little while” while it waits for reimbursement for costs associated with the Valley fire.

As far as potential security costs, Johnson said the churches reached out to a security company that quoted them $21 per hour, or almost $6,000 per month.

Brehms said his church's fellowship hall seats 300 and can sleep 50 people, and the church also has showers and a commercial kitchen.

“One of the reasons for coming to you is just to let you know that we are interested in addressing this need and being part of the solution, as a group of churches in Lake County,” Brehms said.

Supervisor Jim Steele said he had attended point in time counts to count the homeless population. He said he had spoken to homeless people during those events who said they didn't care if a shelter was dilapidated so long as they could get out of the cold. He suggested that other locations besides the Seventh-day Adventist church – such as warehouses with heaters – could be used.

Edgar Perez, who heads up the housing program for Lake County Social Services, suggested taking the proposal to the Continuum of Care group that is working to address homelessness in order to consider available resources.

Perez said there were issues with a warming center set up by a church in Clearlake last year, which was closed down by the city, as well as the Lake Family Resource Center's warming center.

“This is a big issue,” said Farrington, who added that since the center was proposed to be located in his district it needed buy in from his constituency. But he supported starting the discussion.

Kimbell-Auth said the ministers will meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday at United Christian Parish, 745 N. Brush St. in Lakeport, to further discuss their plans, and she invited local officials to attend.

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