Local nonprofit Safe Space Winter Shelter no longer has a building to operate out of. The organization left its main office on Mangrove Avenue last week after the landlord for the office did not renew the organization’s month-to-month lease.
Safe Space provides overnight shelter during the winter and runs cooling centers during the summer.
“It's amazing how losing your home can create an unstable environment,” said Safe Space Executive Director Hilary Crosby.
She said the staff is currently working in a rented coworking space downtown and is looking for a new location. The plan is for Safe Space to get into a new building that can be renovated to act as a permanent shelter, as well as house their offices and case management services.
“We've realized that it is so incredibly hard to move constantly,” Crosby said. During the winter season, Safe Space partners with churches in Chico to use their buildings for shelter.
“We're so grateful for our faith-based community that's opened their spaces up. But they're limited in resources too,” she said.
The nonprofit is looking for additional grant funding to pay for the building and any renovations it would need to become a homeless shelter.
Safe Space will continue to provide its normal emergency shelter services while it looks for a new home, Crosby said. It stopped its winter shelter services for the season earlier this month and is gearing up to provide cooling centers during the summer heat.
While the immediate future is uncertain, Crosby said she’s hopeful about the organization’s prospects.
“If we just take it slow and get our feet underneath us,” she said. “And make sure the foundation is really solid, then this next move will be a good one.”
