$4.9 million conundrum

A few things became immediately clear at the outset of Monday afternoon’s (March 18) meeting of the Butte Countywide Continuum of Care Council. First, the process of assessing applications for state money granted because of the region’s declared shelter crisis lacked transparency, as only those who sat on the six-member selection committee were given access to the applications. Second, the priorities seemed skewed, with some in attendance questioning why grant-writing ability was weighted over strength of mission. And third, despite having an “exploding” homelessness problem, Oroville’s nonprofits received not one penny of the $4.9 million on the table.

“We were hopeful that some of our projects would get funded,” Oroville City Councilman Eric Smith told the CN&R after Monday’s four-hour meeting. He’d spoken in favor of the Oroville council declaring a shelter crisis and, in fact, it was the first local municipality to do so last year. “We didn’t realize any funding—it’s very disappointing.”

The CoC council had already taken a mulligan—this was its second attempt at doling out the $4.9 million in Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) funding. At its last meeting, in February, members argued that the process lacked transparency and that adding shelter beds needed to be prioritized (see “Missing in action,” Newslines, Feb. 28). Those issues did not appear to have been resolved, even after a second, ad hoc selection committee re-evaluated the applications. The entire council, tasked with final grant approval, was not given access to the applications—only short descriptions of each project.

“It was chaotic,” council member Lisa Currier told the CN&R. While she said she understood not releasing them to the public as they contain financials and other private information, “they shouldn’t be private to everyone sitting on the CoC council. What are we voting on? We are voting on what this group of volunteers chose.”

Don Taylor, second chair of the council who works for Butte County’s Department of Behavioral Health, disagreed.

“The problem is … there were about $12 million in requests, and only $4.9 million in play,” he told the CN&R. “We knew there would be criticism because several of our very deserving community members would not receive funding.”

After a discussion of each grant application—at least those that the ad hoc committee had recommended to receive funding—the council approved 10 projects. (Two are for Youth for Change, totaling $369,600, to house homeless youth. Because the HEAP grants stipulated a portion of funding be awarded to youth programs, those were approved at the February meeting.)

The biggest discussion Monday was about a project co-sponsored by the Behavioral Health Department and Department of Employment and Social Services, which requested $834,895.90 to pay for additional staff, equipment and a vehicle to bolster the mobile crisis unit.

“I need to take a stand here, to [advocate for] change in the way Behavioral Health is doing business in Butte County,” Currier told the panel. While she respects the counselors who staff the mobile crisis unit, she said requiring a call to police for a response, plus the fact that the unit is on shift only during daytime hours, is not cost-effective and the money could be used better elsewhere.

“In thinking of all the interactions I’ve seen between Behavioral Health and people in crisis, I don’t have a good story,” council member Bill Mash said.

No one on the council voted in favor of funding that project (two people abstained from that vote).

Attorney Ron Reed, whose Base Camp projects in Oroville run by Caminar were unanimously approved earlier in the meeting ($1,581,432), spoke afterward: “[Behavioral Health] should hear this response. We as a community need to learn from it and correct it.”

The rest of the awards are as follows:

Ampla Health’s pilot mobile medical unit was funded ($971,716), but at less than was originally requested. Council member Tami Ritter, also a county supervisor, spoke against buying a vehicle for a private entity with no promise that it will stay in the region. The council agreed and added stipulations to the project—that it remain in Butte County for five years and that the hours include some nighttime and weekend shifts.

The Community Action Agency of Butte County received a total of $490,535 for two projects. The first is for the Esplanade House, to provide rental subsidies and cover operational costs for 16 families’ apartments a year; the grant period ends in June 2021. The second will pay for case management and landlord mediation for 52 households a year.

Chico Housing Action Team was awarded $455,043.58 for operational costs and rental payments to house 10 families with children.

The Jesus Center will receive $450,000 toward a 24-hour low-barrier shelter for 100 people—to be bolstered with a portion of $1 million donated by Walmart.

And the Torres Community Shelter was added to the funded list—because money was freed up from not funding Behavioral Health—to the tune of $377,268.10, to continue its day center.

Five Oroville projects applied for funding, but none were high enough on the list—apparently ranked by the ad hoc committee, though no rank was made public—to be discussed.

The Oroville Rescue Mission had requested funding to purchase property for a 24-hour low-barrier shelter. Project We Hope had requested funding for its Haven of Hope on Wheels mobile shower unit as well as a nighttime emergency shelter.

“We’re screwed and Oroville gets no low-barrier shelter. That’s where we’re at,” Stephen Terry, of the Oroville Rescue Mission, said.