A routine disbursement of grant funds turned into yet another discussion about the future of a homeless shelter during Tuesday’s city council meeting.
Mulling the distribution of $70,000 in Community Development Block Grant money, the council was set to vote on giving $10,000 awards to seven different programs, including the cash-strapped We Care men’s homeless shelter.
However, Mayor Amy Bublak resisted the idea of awarding money to We Care, claiming the shelter’s future is in doubt.
“I keep getting emails saying they’re closing,” Bublak said during the meeting, though she did not specify if any of those emails came directly from We Care. “So, I don’t really want to extend money toward something when we have no absolute. I’d rather use it toward something else.”
Councilmember Rebecka Monez (District 2) echoed the mayor’s concerns.
“We’re getting emails daily saying that the shelter is closing: ‘What’s your plan? What are you doing?’” said Monez. “And now we’re supposed to give them money?”
Councilmember Cassandra Abram (District 3) disputed the notion that We Care’s demise is a fait accompli.
“We’re hearing from the public, who absolutely has a right to talk about whatever they want to talk about,” said Abram, referring to rumors of a potential closure. “But (city staff) is saying that a representative of We Care, who has the capacity to sign (a contract), said they would like to accept this money. I think we should take them at their word that they’re going to figure out a way to do this.”
Ultimately, the council unanimously approved $10,000 apiece for the United Samaritans Foundation for its emergency food-box program, the city of Turlock’s Public Works/Recreation Division for scholarships, the Center for Human Services for Youth Street Outreach and Navigation, the Healthy Alternatives for Violent Environments (HAVEN) program, and Project Sentinel for fair housing services.
USF was set to receive another $10,00 for its senior lunch program, but chose not to accept the money since it’s discontinuing the program. That leftover $20,000 (intended for We Care and USF’s senior lunches), will be considered at the June 24 council meeting.
Last month, Abram suggested the city provide additional help by maxing out its CDBG contributions. That idea was shot down.
Typically, the public-service grants awarded to nonprofits are for $10,000. The CDBG money originates from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and since the city is never certain how much federal money it will receive, it tends to settle on a conservative figure. And the money is never given to the individual programs in one chunk. Rather, it’s for reimbursable expenses, meaning each program must submit receipts to the city, and the city takes care of paying those bills (up to the $10,000 limit).
In April, Bublak, Monez, and Erika Phillips (District 4) voted against a token $1 contribution that would’ve secured nearly $270,000 in state funds for the shelter. Abram and Kevin Bixel (District 1) voted in support of We Care.
Since then, the shelter has become the center of a political maelstrom. Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the council for failing to do its job. Bublak fired back, essentially telling the governor to butt out.
And, ever since, We Care supporters have shown up en masse to speak during the public-comment portion of council meetings.
Meanwhile, We Care is scrambling to keep its doors open beyond June 30, the end of the current fiscal year.
The Modesto-based Stanislaus Community Foundation has stepped up with a pledge of $50,000, according to CEO Marian Kaanon, while another combined $40,000 is coming from Kaiser and United Way.
In 2021, Monez and former District 4 Councilmember Pam Franco were appointed to an ad hoc homeless committee. They published their findings in February 2022. That report cited a Legacy Health Endowment study that said, “no single nonprofit or government agency has taken the lead in developing and implementing a strategy” regarding homelessness. Three years later, that still seems to be the case.
Last year, following a motion by Franco, the council slashed We Care’s CDBG allotment to $4,500 since just 45 percent of the men it served hailed from Turlock. Bublak, Monez, and Franco favored the reduction in funds, while Bixel and Abrams dissented.
