Finding hope in Oroville

This week is full of drama in the realm of the Chico-based nonprofit organizations that appear to be clamoring for the same pots of money for their respective projects aimed at serving homeless people.

Thankfully, good news is nigh. In this case, it’s coming from our neighbors in Oroville.

The CN&R has learned that the Haven of Hope on Wheels project—launched last year by the Oroville Southside Community Improvement Association—is getting ready to roll. That mobile hygiene unit is designed to offer folks on the streets a chance to do laundry, as well as bathe and relieve themselves.

We first wrote about Haven of Hope on Wheels a year ago. Back then, Oroville pastor Kevin Thompson and others affiliated with the Southside nonprofit had recently launched a campaign to raise around $100,000. In their effort to drum up support, they made presentations to the Oroville City Council and Butte County Board of Supervisors. Ultimately, the city of Oroville committed $175,000 in bond money toward the effort. The supervisors penned a letter of support.

Haven of Hope had applied for a share of the $4.9 million in Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) funding—one-time state grant money allocated through the Butte Countywide Homeless Continuum of Care (CoC) for efforts in municipalities that declared a shelter crisis. Haven of Hope’s proposal—to expand its coverage to the entire county—didn’t make the cut. In fact, not a single Oroville-based nonprofit received HEAP funds.

It’s unfortunate Oroville was overlooked. This is a good time to remember that the City of Gold is struggling to address the homeless crisis and that it, too, has been strained by the Camp Fire. According to the state Department of Finance, Oroville’s population grew by 20.4 percent over the last year.

We’re encouraged by the recent decision of the CoC board to streamline its application process, which was not only cumbersome but also unfair to smaller organizations that lack expertise in things like grant writing.

For now, Haven of Hope is concentrating on Oroville’s homeless population. Eventually, the goal is to set up at numerous locations throughout the county, including sites in Chico. That’s something we should all get behind.