Chico is expected to brace for a cold and rainy winter season. In these times, unhoused populations need warmth and shelter. Local nonprofit Safe Space aims to fill those needs.
Safe Space is a low-barrier shelter that provides beds and meals for unhoused community members during the winter. It’s been operating for the past ten years but does not yet have a permanent location.
The organization recently procured an office on Esplanade where they hope to provide daytime services and coordinate operations, but was told by city officials a land use permit is needed. Safe Space is working with the city to make this new location an intake center, but Quin Troester, shelter operations coordinator with the nonprofit, said there’s been some pushback from nearby businesses and residents.
“We need space for people,” Troester said. “That's the biggest obstacle that we face in our logistics … just having consistency. We pack up every year and then have to re-establish the facilities and different operational logistics [the next] year. It would be awesome to spend that effort providing services.”
Safe Space coordinates with churches to provide shelter for 35 to 60 people every night during the coldest months of the year. The current host facilities are Chico First Baptist Church, Hope Commons Church, Faith Lutheran Church, First Christian Church of Chico and Trinity United Methodist Church.
Other challenges include procuring funding and having enough volunteer staff to carry out daily operations.
Community members are invited to sign up to volunteer for the organization and a volunteer training is coming up in a few weeks.
Volunteers can help set up bedding in the evenings, make and serve meals, or clean up in the morning. For people with limited time availability, there are also opportunities to do laundry once a week or donate a meal that is cooked ahead of time.
“I started out in a very minimal role with Safe Space and realized what an amazing community of people it is,” Troester said. “I feel kind of helpless a lot of the time when I read the news and see the way that things are going in the world. This is a very attainable thing that I can do to make a direct impact in my community.”
Housing has become a controversial issue in Chico and there is division amongst people who have different ideas about the causes and solutions to homelessness. But Troester pushed back against the idea of blaming unhoused Chico residents.
“It's important to know that nobody is choosing to be homeless,” Troester said. “Nobody wants to sleep in the rain. A lot of the people we serve have lived in the Chico area for most, if not all, of their lives. This is not a decision that people choose to make, and it's not a problem that is going to go away.”
Troester is hopeful the city will embrace new opportunities to solve the local housing crisis in the future. For now, Safe Space is doing what they can to fill the gaps.
