The We Care homeless shelter will lose out on a state grant of $267,100 — exactly half of its yearly operational budget.
That’s because the Turlock City Council couldn’t produce the quorum necessary to hold a special meeting where it would take up the issue before Tuesday’s deadline.
On April 8, the city voted 3-2 against contributing $1 and a letter of support that was required to secure the funds from Stanislaus County.
Now, the Board of Supervisors will redistribute the Permanent Local Housing Allocation funds, issued by the state, to another municipality.
What happens next with We Care is anybody’s guess.
Corey Mai, the shelter’s executive director, has resorted to starting a GoFundMe account in hopes of raising money. Without the funds, Mai said, there are no guarantees that We Care can remain open into the summer.
“We do not have funding after June 30, which is the end of our fiscal year,” said Mai. “We do have some things in the works, so we’re hopeful that if we do close, it would only be for a short time while we try to figure things out.”
Mai said that she’s been working with CalAIM, which would help with funding for post-hospital, short-term-stay individuals — a small portion of the shelter’s clientele.
But closure of the shelter would mean roughly 50 men each night would be left to fend for themselves on the street.
“We are definitely in scramble mode and we’re realizing that we’re going to have to rely on different funding sources and not the city,” said Mai. “Honestly, I have no clue what their thought process is. Do they think if we close down, homeless people are going to just go away?”
Councilmembers Kevin Bixel (District 1) and Cassandra Abram (District 3) cast their votes on April 8 to support the shelter. Both said they volunteered to rearrange their schedules to make a quorum possible, and both are frustrated that a special session won’t happen.
“It makes no sense to me whatsoever,” said Bixel. “And it’s just plain wrong. It’s not We Care’s responsibility to cure homelessness. They provide a valuable service to people that need it. It’s not like we were spending the city’s money here.
“I understand the situation of the downtown business owners, but how is contributing to We Care’s potential closure going to help them?”
We Care provides beds for as many as 49 men, seven nights a week. Guests must exit the shelter for 10 hours beginning at 8 a.m. Downtown business owners have long held that vagrancy during We Care’s shut-down hours places an undue burden on their establishments.
“My question to my colleagues is, ‘Who won out of this?’” said Abram. “No one wins. The council is not getting what it stated it wanted, even though it was offered. The community is definitely losing out on We Care’s services, and we’re crippling a non-profit for no gain.”
The city wanted We Care to provide 24-hour restroom availability, and the shelter responded with a six-month plan to do that. When the city said six months wasn’t enough, and held out for a one-year guarantee, We Care obliged.
Mayor Amy Bublak, along with councilmembers Rebecka Monez (District 2) and Erika Phillips (District 4), voted against the item on April 8.
Asked what the city’s plan would be if We Care were to cease operations, Bublak said, “Then we’ll start having conversations with the county. Right now, it’s broken. All of California is broken. I wish We Care had been more pragmatic and less emotional, but whatever happened has happened. Tomorrow’s another day, and we’ll see what happens next.”
