The city of Chico said it is preparing to clear another group of homeless encampments across town. The announcement came days after a city council member accused the city of making it harder for unhoused residents to enter its Genesis (Pallet) Shelter.
The sweeps will target people camping in lower Bidwell Park, Comanche Creek, and along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and Silver Dollar Way.
In total, more than 50 people will be forced to relocate. The week the enforcement was announced, the dorm-style Torres Shelter had three beds available for women, and one for men, and there were 36 micro shelters at the Genesis Shelter available.
That is fewer beds than the number of people being displaced. Under the Warren v. Chico settlement agreement, residents who were referred to a shelter in the past and refused do not have to be counted when considering if there are enough shelter beds available in the city. Otherwise, the settlement agreement bars the city from removing camps when there are not enough shelter beds available.
Campers say they’d go to the Genesis Shelter if given the chance
Unhoused residents camping in Bidwell Park told NSPR they would stay at the Genesis Shelter if given the chance, but were referred to the Torres Shelter by city staff ahead of encampment sweeps.
Amanda Mcsweeney has a camp by the creek in lower Bidwell Park. She's been homeless for seven years and says being forced to relocate is incredibly stressful.
"We lose our stuff. We get the chance of getting written up or put in jail just because we don't want to move from our area. A lot of things go missing" Mcsweeney said. "We have to relapse and restart over, and it's kind of not fair.”
She said only people with specific situations are directed to the Genesis Shelter.
"They have not offered me it because I guess I didn't reach the [criteria]," Mcsweeney said. "Most people with dogs or a couple, [they] can meet that criteria. They usually go into a Pallet [Genesis] shelter."
Council member Winslow accuses the city of leaving too many vacancies at the Genesis Shelter
In a statement released last week, Chico council member Addison Winslow claimed the city places barriers to enter the Genesis Shelter and then points to the vacant units as proof that Chico's unhoused population is resistant to aid.
Information in a September legal filing from Legal Services of Northern California documents evidence of overwhelming demand to stay at the site.
The Jesus Center, which manages the Genesis Shelter, has a phone line that residents can call if they want to voluntarily stay at the site. The law firm found that, as of January of this year, there were nearly 2,000 calls made to the waitlist since the site opened in 2022. The law firm said only 19 of those callers were reached and only 13 were offered admission to the pallet shelter.
City of Chico officials and Jesus Center staff members did not return requests for comment by deadline.
Residents targeted in upcoming enforcement aren’t sure where to go
For those about to be targeted by the city, it feels as though there aren't many options left.
James Snyder, who is also camping at Bidwell Park, said he has been forced to repeatedly move by the city.
He said he would also stay at the Genesis Shelter if given the chance, but has only been referred to the Torres shelter. After bad experiences there, he said it's not an option for him — which means he doesn't have many other places to go.
"I have to figure out how to move all my crap," Snyder said. "Otherwise they're gonna throw it away."
He plans to move to the next park he can find that hasn't been closed off yet and keep repeating the process. He said right now, he's just trying to survive.
