The Homeless Coalition Summit will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
“This summit is including everybody around the lake,” said Clearlake City Council member Joyce Overton. “This is not just for Clearlake.”
Larry Lakes, the new executive director of Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa, will be the summit's facilitator, said Georgina Lehne, executive director of the Lake County Community Action Agency.
Lehne said the meeting is meant to bring together groups and individuals – nonprofits, churches, senior centers and others – who work with the homeless to see what they can do.
Overton called the summit, which she hopes will result in strategies for helping to address homelessness throughout Lake County. Other hoped-for outcomes are the recruitment of volunteers and the formal formation of a homeless coalition that's been meeting on an informal basis since last year.
She said the community always has had homeless members, adding, “With the economy we're going to be seeing a lot of families and children out on the street.”
With winter right around the corner, it's a pressing concern, said Overton, and she wants to both raise awareness and find ways of sheltering the homeless through the colder parts of the year.
“I feel that this year is going to be worse than ever,” she said.
Last year, Overton worked with a group on the “Warm for the Winter” campaign, which consisted of giving blankets, tents and warm clothing to homeless community members.
Overton said she had calls for help from all around Lake County. The problem, she said, isn't just in Clearlake. “It's everywhere.”
At the time, Overton said they had no place to shelter them, although Calvary Church opened its doors in the daytime to offer them a place to get out of the cold.
Otherwise, “There is no emergency shelter in this county,” said Overton.
Overton believes the foreclosure crisis is resulting in more individuals and families finding themselves without a place to call home.
Lehne said she has some statistical data to show homelessness is growing, and that it isn't just anecdotal. However, she said she's hoping that those who participate in the summit will be able to offer more information to track the situation.
“The need in the community has really grown,” she said.
Lehne said it will be good to have the different groups who see the problem firsthand in the room, so they can share ideas and coordinate services, which will prevent duplication.
Overton said she hopes the group will be able to find stimulus money to fund a shelter.
She also wants to bring to the community a plan to end homelessness, based on Riverside County's “10-Year Strategy to End Homeless,” which was taken to the National League of Cities. Several communities and cities around the nation, including Chicago and Seattle, have their own such plans.
“I really want my community to sign on,” said Overton, who wants to introduce the document this fall, around Thanksgiving.
Overton said US Housing and Urban Development is helping promote the plan, and agency officials have met with Overton and others to discuss solutions.
“The process is just beginning as far as what we can all do to help,” said Lehne.
To see the Riverside plan to end homelessness, visit www.riversidehomeless.org/ .
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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