Warming shelter could be opening in Salinas

It’s the first day of fall and Salinas city leaders said they are finally working toward a better solution for the homeless, including a warming shelter. The Chinatown area could be getting a major facelift.

The city estimates there are at least 500 to 700 homeless people living in the Salinas community. It’s a problem that the city has been trying to solve for almost a decade now.

On Thursday, talks will continue among the city, county and the Salinas Downtown Community Board about ways to finally get the ball rolling on a 10-year plan.

“Is it showers? Is it toilets? Is it trash?” said Don Reynolds, Salinas Public Works project manager. “Is it mental health? Is it employment?”

The list goes on and on when it comes to how to deal with a growing homeless community.

“If you look at the statistics and the number of homeless in our community and you look at the number of shelters and services there’s a great shortage. There’s a big gap there,” Reynolds said.

At a recent City Council meeting, $140,000 of Measure V money was put toward a warming shelter retrofit in Chinatown. Reynolds said it is part of a bigger plan to turn the area into a social services center.

“This is the extreme. This is the worst-case scenario. There have been people living in this community for 15 years. We need to help them with the steps,” Reynolds said.

The project is still in the beginning stages, but one proposal is to turn the former bar Copa Cabana into a facility that would provide various services, including sanitation, trash, social services and public benefit programs.

Reynolds said the warming shelter portion of the project may not be ready by this winter. The building might not be ready to re-open and the location has already been met with some resistance.

“We need to help them with the steps. We can’t turn our face anymore and say it’s someone else’s job. This is our backyard. These are members of our community,” Reynolds said.

Right now all ideas are on the table. It is not clear yet how much everything would cost.