Warming shelter to close; County weighs options

Time is running out for the Salinas warming shelter. The facility will officially close its doors on May 30.

The Transportation Agency for Monterey County owns the building on West Market Street and allowed the city and county to operate the warming shelter over the winter. It was supposed to close on April 30, but the Board of Directors approved a 30-day extension to allow Monterey County to find a long-term replacement.

With one week left before the shelter will close its doors forever, the Department of Social Services has come up with a temporary fix.

“We’re considering approving a contract with Dorothy’s Place (Franciscan Workers of Junipero Serra) and Victory Mission to expand their existing shelters in Chinatown,” said Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo. “We know that it’s not the most ideal situation but knowing that the current temporary shelter is about to close, we had to come up with a quick plan.”

On Tuesday, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a proposal that would negotiate and execute an agreement with the Franciscan Workers of Junipero Serra for up to $167,305. That money would be used to temporarily expand shelter services for homeless women and operate a daytime activity program from May 30-Oct. 30, 2017. As many as 31 women could seek overnight shelter.

The proposal also approved negotiating and executive an agreement with the Victory Mission for up to $58,090 would do the same, but for as many as 40 homeless men.

However — it’s not a done deal.

The city of Salinas helped the county operate the warming shelter. Alejo said he hoped they would again help pay for the extension.

The board of directors for the Franciscan Workers of Junipero Serra has to approve the agreement. According to the executive director of Dorothy’s Place, some directors have expressed concerns about public safety. There are concerns people who need help avoid Chinatown because of rampant drug and prostitution in the area.

“I think if we were to get public safety addressed immediately in Chinatown, then a day program in Chinatown could consist of people doing simple things like sweeping up street trash or volunteering in the Victory Mission program or the Dorothy’s Place program or pulling weeds in the community garden,” Jill Allen said. “Anything that’s going to keep them occupied, give them a sense of purpose, something to do during the day is better than them wandering the streets and doing nuisance activity.”

The proposal would run operations from May 30 until October 30. There are hopes the county will have a permanent shelter location by then.

“We’ve been touring county-owned property,” said Elliott Robinson, Monterey County Department of Social Services Director. “We’re looking at other properties and our hope is really to have a short-term solution for this winter and also keep on path, a longer solution that has a long term robust year round shelter. We don’t have anything to report yet because it’s very important that you have a strategy because so many people have concerns about how and where but what’s absolutely certain is that we do need to establish a long term shelter solution.”