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Red Bluff City Council hopes to have homelessness solutions in the new year

Citizens gather at the Red Bluff Community Center to suggest solutions to the housing crisis on Oct. 29, 2024 in Red Bluff, CA.
Alec Stutson
/
NSPR
Citizens gather at the Red Bluff Community Center to suggest solutions to the housing crisis on Oct. 29, 2024 in Red Bluff, CA.

In the city of Red Bluff, housing and homelessness are top priorities for community members and government officials alike. City officials hope to begin bringing change to the community in the new year.

City Council Member Cody Strock said he used to be one of the only members interested in proposing new ideas on how to address homelessness, and his motions would often fail for lack of support.

After November's election, Strock said there's been a shift in the city government with the election of Mark Clement and JR Gonzales to the council.

"The simple answer is we've had a change in politicians," Strock said. "Now myself, Mark and [Mayor] Kris [Deiters] are all highly interested in directly addressing this problem and actually doing something."

Strock and Mayor Deiters were appointed to an ad-hoc committee to address homelessness before the election. Strock said he's planning a proposal for a new approach in the city.

"I want to immediately establish a properly managed campground for tiny home facilities," Strock said. "It's humane, and we know it works, and then also it cleans up the street quite a lot. Our streets and facilities aren't designed to house people, and so because people are living on them, they're getting trashed."

The facilities he's referencing include Samuel Ayer Park in Red Bluff, which the city designated as a place for unhoused residents to camp. Unhoused residents also live under bridges in towns and on open lots of land.

Strock's plan for a managed campsite and tiny shelter village isn't the only housing initiative in the area. City Manager Tom Westbrook said the city has approved two affordable housing initiatives in recent years, but the developers are still seeking funding to complete them.

"The city is working on a project for [...] 64 units of more traditional, single family homes," Westbrook said. "While that may not necessarily be an affordable housing project, somebody moving into that may leave a home that is now for sale that's maybe a little bit more affordable for somebody else in our community."

Community outrage

Red Bluff's response to homelessness comes as the issue is under increasing scrutiny from residents, many of whom are angry and frustrated over a perceived lack of change.

Two months ago, a Red Bluff citizen was stabbed by an assailant they believe to have been homeless. While that fact hasn't been confirmed, it led to a backlash from the community towards their unhoused neighbors.

At a special community meeting called by the City Council in late October, hundreds of community members gathered at the Red Bluff Community Center to give feedback on their experience with unhoused residents, and offer potential solutions to be considered by the city government.

Many expressed an interest in relocating unhoused residents, claiming they aren't from the area and should be returned to their homes.

Others like Kenneth Gammon, who's currently unhoused, hoped to change community members' outlooks.

"I apologize for the problems with the homeless community. It's on an individual basis," Gammon said at the meeting. He said he's organized unhoused clean-up days, where he and other unhoused residents work to clean up trash and belongings left behind.

"We would be blessed to have any extra resources that might be available," Gammon said. "It's going to be a continued effort to hopefully clean up our community, and change the outlook of the community towards the homeless people. Because they're not all bad."

Some members of the community responded to the issue with threats of violence. One citizen even called for mobs of vigilante citizens to assault residents before "throw[ing] them over that bridge and wash[ing] them to the next town."

Violent attacks perpetrated against unhoused people have happened in nearby Chico. For example, a 25 year old man was shot in the arm and leg while inside his tent at Teichert Ponds in 2022.

The National Coalition for Homelessness released a report earlier this year tracking violent crimes against people experiencing homelessness. It found there were at least 47 fatal attacks in 2022, with nearly half of those occurring in California and Oregon. The organization wrote that it believed efforts to criminalize people with nowhere else to go led to “the increase in violence and vitriol toward people experiencing homelessness.”

Councilmember Cody Strock said he doesn’t believe people in Red Bluff are making serious threats, but their reactions point to a need for solutions.

"We cannot crack heads and hope that that works out," Strock said. "And most of the people saying it don't actually want [violence] to happen. But it has led to a discussion about actual enforcement."

Strock said he and Mayor Deiters hope to have a presentation on the proposed managed camp site ready by the end of January. He said that he also plans to work on an ordinance against sleeping on the street if there is space available at that site.

Alec Stutson grew up in Colorado and graduated from the University of Missouri with degrees in Radio Journalism, 20th/21st Century Literature, and a minor in Film Studies. He is a huge podcast junkie, as well as a movie nerd and musician.