Turlock puts homeless committee on hold

By MICHAEL R. SHEA
mshea@modbee.com

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TURLOCK -- The City Council last week delayed forming a committee to design a long-term solution for the city's homeless problem.

Instead, the council will hold a workshop to bring the homeless, homeless advocates, faith-based groups, services providers and the public together to draft a short-term plan for what to do about the emergency shelter on B Street.

Discussions of homelessness reached a boiling point in 2006 when downtown clergy and business owners blocked plans for a $2.9 million permanent shelter at the B Street emergency shelter site.

Homelessness: continuing coverage

The council delayed action and hired the Center for Public Policy Studies at California State University, Stanislaus, to conduct a $70,000 study of community opinions on homelessness. The study recommended a grass-roots committee.

That committee would seek a long-term solution for getting people off the street. The emergency shelter at B Street is a short-term solution, usually housing homeless from November through April.

Three city councilmen -- a majority -- have said they won't allow the B Street shelter to open next year because of neighborhood complaints.

Brian Miller, pastor at Enclave Community Church on Canal Drive, told council members Feb. 26 that they were missing the immediate need by threatening the only shelter in town. He guessed it would take at least a year, maybe more, to see results from the long-term study committee. Miller spoke on behalf of Turlock Community Collaborative, the group responsible for starting the emergency shelter more than five years ago.

"The picture for next year is very bleak," he said Wednesday. "The misconception is Turlock Gospel Mission would be a magic bullet, but they're not even close to having a shelter set up and they're focusing on families -- which is great, which we support 100 percent -- but there are a lot more kinds of homeless out there."

The Turlock Gospel Mission grew out of the faith-based community, spearheaded by several pastors who blocked the permanent year-round shelter in 2006. In January, the group started busing homeless people seven nights a week from downtown's First Baptist Church to other area churches for "meals and a message," said mission board member Chris Kiriakou.

The meal program has been a success, feeding as many as 31 people a night. The group hopes to expand a building on First Baptist Church's West Main Street campus into a shelter for families. Kiriakou said he can't put a timeline on the project.

"It's a whole lot more complex, sheltering people, than most people think on the cuff," he said. " 'Oh let's just get a building and some beds.' Well, not quite. There's a whole raft of requirements."

No date has been set for the homeless workshop the council agreed on Feb. 26 to hold, City Manager Tim Kerr said. He said the council's decision was a positive one for the homeless and homeless groups, because the emergency shelter is on the council's radar and delaying the committee by a few weeks shouldn't hinder long-term planning.

In the meantime, fear and anxiety loom at the B Street shelter.

"Delays, delays, delays," said homeless man Mick Matthews, shaking his head about the latest decision.

Kerr said he understands.

"Government is a process and sometimes the process is agonizingly slow," he said. "But Turlock is one of the only small cities in the region willing to touch this problem."

Bee staff writer Michael R. Shea can be reached at mshea@modbee.com or 578-2391.