Nonprofit to host important fundraiser on Easter Sunday
By Ken Magri
Chico resident Jake Smith stood before a camera in 2022 while trying to hold back a gush of tears. After collecting himself, he finally swallowed and said, “It saved him.”
What he meant soon became clear.
“I was afraid my dad was going to die on the streets,” Smith went on, “and suddenly he’s got a roof, soft bed and a shower.”
Smith was being filmed for a documentary about the Chico Housing Action Team’s list of accomplishments, which include rescuing his father from homelessness.
Talking about Chico’s unhoused population feels like the changing weather that everyone discusses but can’t control. Even using the words “homeless” or “the unhoused” in conversations somehow takes the human element out of view, as if these individuals are not real people with compelling back stories and lives worth living.
Meanwhile, the nonprofit team – also known as CHAT – is quietly producing results like they did for the elder Mr. Smith, finding simple places to live and letting tenants enjoy normal lives again.
CHAT began in 2013 as a group of local volunteers hoping to come up with new ways to tackle the county’s homeless challenge.
“They didn’t think of themselves as founders, but were just a group of people that wanted to be part of a solution,” recalled Lizzy Young, CHAT’s current Executive Director.
Soon after, the group of a dozen or so determined people established their first in a series of rotational Safe Space shelters by working with the Trinity United Methodist Church.
“The fact that we started as a rotating shelter was so good for us because it was part of our educational process,” said co-founder Leslie Johnson in a 2022 documentary about CHAT, referenced above, called “Respectful Revolution.”
Temporary shelter was just a beginning. Some of the CHAT volunteers wanted to create permanent housing opportunities. So, co-founder Robert Trausch planned trips to Oregon and Washington to learn what other cities did. He created a list of best-practices while working on CHAT goals.
After two years, CHAT got its first house by creating a “master lease” program, which allowed the organization to pay rent on behalf of homeless tenants and take responsibility for their behavior. It became a test house of sorts, to see what would and wouldn’t work, and what other wrap-around social services might be needed.
“It’s not simply enough to put people in a home,” Young told News & Review, adding that the real challenge is “how do we keep them off the streets?”
Some obstacles were easier, like finding rental units for those who lost housing but still have a steady income.
“That’s a key point,” said Young, “because a large majority of the folks living unhoused on the streets is not necessarily from a lack of income.”
Forming new partnerships
As CHAT had more successes, its understanding of additional community support services became clearer. Realizing that the unhoused have a myriad of physical and psychological issues, CHAT established partnerships with Butte County Behavioral Health, Catalyst Domestic Violence Services, True North Housing Alliance, Chico State Basic Needs, Butte College, 6th Street Youth Center, Safe Space Chico, California Health and Wellness and the Alliance for Workforce Development.
Working with the Jesus Center, CHAT created the Renewal Center to house 14 families and 30 individuals for up to six months while they work towards transitioning into a more permanent solution.
Harmony House was created as a place where people with mental health challenges could learn to live together.
“We’re as diverse as you can get, so it takes a lot to get along” observed resident Benson. “But CHAT has provided us with a house manager who helps us do that.”
CHAT also realized there are different ways to help those who struggle with homelessness. Its Redwood Housing Project is designed for CSU Chico students. According to CHAT, up to 500 college students in Butte County are homeless each year.
The Hand Up Supporting Housing program (HUSH) temporarily finds homes, food, clothes and support services or families before transitioning them into permanent housing. CHAT created a food and furniture warehouse to supply their new tenants. Its Veterans House addresses the needs of homeless persons who served in the military.
Hope Village is CHAT’s permanent housing project that features six tiny homes. By working with a local developer, Slater and Son Construction, CHAT proved that affordable housing could be built for less than current market prices by reducing the size.
“It’s got everything,” said builder Brandon Slater. “It’s got a little front patio, room for a queen sized bed, a living room, full kitchen, full bathroom, a walk in closet, but it’s just 300-square-feet.”
Everhart Village is a pilot program that houses those with more severe behavioral challenges at a newer location right across from the Butte County Department of Behavioral Health on Cohasset Road. The close proximity allows residents and social workers to meet with each other more often.
The village was named after Dan Everhart, a Chico social justice and homeless advocate who passed away in 2018. Now celebrating its one-year anniversary, Everhart Village houses 20 people at a time in tiny individual cabins.
Creativity versus the politics of inaction
Right now, CHAT is housing over 200 individuals in its units.
Meanwhile, city leaders order camping evictions and site clean-ups. They conduct endless discussions while legally battling a judge who ruled that Chico’s past efforts to help the homeless were inadequate.
“We’re spending about ten million dollars a year right now,” said Mayor Reynolds at the March 4th city council meeting while making a motion for an ad-hoc committee to re-examine homelessness in Chico. That amount breaks down to around $10,000 per unhoused person each year.
“The reason I would like to take this to an ad-hoc committee is because this format sucks,” Reynolds stated, referring to the council dais and the way agenda items are prevented from being discussed.”We need to take down this stupid wall and look at each other across the table.”
This newly-formed ad-hoc committee, originally requested by Councilmember Bryce Goldstein, is expected to produce actionable results in three months while working within the current political dynamic.
News & Review asked Lizzy Young if CHAT had been contacted about participating.
“No one has reached out yet about the committee, but yes, I would be happy to serve on the committee and provide guidance in any way possible,” Young confirmed.
Proponents argue that what makes CHAT so special is its creativity, finding ways to serve Chico’s homeless population with new ideas and a cooperative spirit.
“The big value is that we are one of the leading low-barrier permanent housing providers in conjunction with social services,” Young offered.
New funding for a bigger future
After securing a $16.5 million grant from the state, and a donation of land on Chico’s west side, CHAT broke ground last year on a 62-unit apartment complex with Slater and Son Construction. But the grant award is based on CHAT raising $115,000 more in matching funds to make its largest project ever come to fruition.
While cash donations are always needed, there is a fun way to help in April.
On Easter Sunday, CHAT will host a pancake breakfast from 8 am to 12pm at the CARD Community Center’s rose garden, 545 Vallombrosa Avenue in Chico. Bring the kids because the event includes face painting, an Easter egg hunt and photos with the Easter Bunny.
Tickets can be purchased at the door or through the CHAT website. https://www.chicohousingactionteam.net/upcoming-events
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