Safe Space Chico

Chico residents have endured several days of dangerous temperatures this summer. Wednesday the city of Chico renewed its contract with the nonprofit Safe Space to provide emergency cooling and warming shelter services.

As Chico is forecast to see triple-digit heat, the city of Chico has no contract to provide cooling center services. Negotiations with the nonprofit Safe Space have been stalled. That's despite the city initially saying the contract had been finalized.

The local nonprofit Safe Space had to move out after its lease expired. Where will they go next?

Safe Space Winter Shelter says its intake center will be in the parking lot of Trinity United Methodist Church for the rest of the season following more than a week of negotiations with the city of Chico over a zoning issue at the nonprofit’s prior location. Also, a controversial settlement agreement between the California Public Utilities Commission and PG&E over the energy company’s role in the deadly 2021 Dixie Fire was delayed for a second time this week, and the Shasta County Election Commission has asked that the county’s supervisors to hire legal counsel to find out if they have authority to review election materials.

Following the forced removal of Safe Space’s intake center from its original location this year at the former 7-Eleven building downtown, the nonprofit says it’s doing the best it can at a new location outside a local church.

A meeting yesterday between Safe Space Winter Shelter and the city of Chico has smoothed tensions between the groups after the nonprofit moved its intake center to an outdoor church parking lot following fines and threats of legal action from the city. Also, Chico State has named Leslie Cornick as its new Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and a storm that moved into the North State last night is bringing valley rain and heavy mountain snow to the region.

The emergency winter shelter has moved its intake center to an outdoor church parking lot following fines and threats of legal action from the city.

At least 27 unhoused residents in Chico died on the streets or in temporary shelters last year. But that’s according to a local advocate, not any official agency. Neither Chico nor Butte County keep track of unhoused deaths, but other communities do.

The Chico City Council called an emergency meeting over the weekend regarding Safe Space winter shelter. The meeting comes after Safe Space moved its intake center to the city’s “Our Hands” sculpture on Friday night due to receiving a fine for using the former 7-Eleven downtown. Also, some residents have had close calls walking or biking through intersections in downtown Chico that don’t have crosswalk signals but Caltrans says more will be installed this summer, and the Butte County Board of Supervisors will vote on accepting grants that would be used to hire year-round defensible space inspectors.

The nonprofit has stopped operating out of its downtown location after the city threatened to impose hefty fines.