Turlock council denies support for homeless center. Can the We Care shelter survive?
Turlock’s We Care program for the homeless needed just a letter of support and $1 from the city to take in $267,000 in grant funding through Stanislaus County.
But the City Council, on a 3-2 vote, opposed the resolution April 8. And time is running out to resolve the impasse.
Mayor Amy Bublak and Councilmembers Erika Phillips and Rebecka Monez voted against the request for the city support, which is a state requirement for the funding from the California Permanent Local Housing Allocation program.
“It is so infuriating to me that they refuse to support the We Care program and are willing to let it fail,” said Cathy Doo, a supporter of the homeless services program, speaking to county supervisors last week. “It would cut half of our budget out of spite.”
The city support is needed by Monday or the $267,000 will be distributed to three other groups awarded PLHA funding in this county.
Bublak said Thursday that the issue with We Care and the county was not resolved at two previous council meetings — April 8 and March 25 — and there is no meeting before the Monday deadline.
“They had two meetings to come to the table and they knew that,” Bublak said. “We don’t have another meeting (scheduled), so we are done.”
In discussions, the city wanted a 24-hour restroom at the We Care site on South Broadway Avenue in addition to help with cleanup in Turlock’s downtown. The We Care program provides emergency shelter for 49 homeless men overnight and also has permanent supportive housing and some affordable housing for low-income families.
Daniel Miller, who’s part of a group that serves dinners at the shelter, told supervisors on April 15 that the charitable organization needs the grant funds for operating expenses at the shelter and for mental health services and job training. The funding would represent about 50% of We Care’s annual budget.
Miller said the landlord won’t allow a portable bathroom on the property and the city’s requests would burden We Care with solving Turlock’s issues with homeless people.
Corey Mai, director of operations for We Care, said Thursday that she reached out to the state Housing and Community Development department and a meeting with interested parties will be held Friday. But her hopes weren’t high.
“We went back and forth with (city representatives),“ Mai said. We Care agreed to providing a public restroom inside the shelter for six months of the year, but the city did not agree, she said.
Mai added that the city request for funds for downtown cleanup couldn’t be provided under the grant agreement. The state funding is for the shelter and related services, she said.
City asked ‘help us out’ and they didn’t do it, mayor says
Bublak said the city requirements would have used $20,000 to $30,000 of the $267,000 grant. She said the city is not in the business of providing social services, but the county receives public funding for that role. “All we were asking is ‘help us out,’ and they didn’t do it,” Bublak said.
The 3-2 council vote April 8, denying the support letter and a dollar, created a tempest in Turlock. “We were shocked,” Mai said. “We felt as though it would be a no-brainer. It is devastating.”
Mai organized a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to replace the loss of grant funds. She wrote that the city’s lack of support jeopardizes the future of the shelter. The men will lose a place to stay at night and Turlock will see increased homelessness if the shelter closes or serves fewer people.
As of Thursday, the GoFundMe campaign had raised $1,070. Mai said money raised through the campaign can cover shortfalls if the organization is able to receive the PLHA funds.
Ron Bridegroom, who attends council meetings, said in a post on the Turlock Journal’s Facebook page that the city’s elected officials raised legitimate issues about the impacts of homelessness. His post cites Stanislaus State University research in 2007 concluding that homeless shelters have an impact on surrounding areas, requiring steps to reduce the consequences.
If the $267,000 is redistributed, the money would go to the Center for Human Services youth navigation center in Modesto, Healthy Alternatives to Violent Environments (HAVEN) and the low-barrier homeless shelter in south Modesto. Through an application process, the county awarded a total of $1.26 million in PLHA funds to We Care and the three other shelters in February.
This story was originally published April 25, 2025 at 6:56 AM with the headline "Turlock council denies support for homeless center. Can the We Care shelter survive?."
