In Chico, there is a clear and present issue with the amount of people that are unsheltered, and oftentimes living on the streets. There are over 100,000 people who live in Chico, and around 1,000 are unsheltered. According to the Jesus Center, more than 80% of these people have been unhoused for over a year, and there isn’t one particular cause for this. Factors like population growth that the city cannot keep up with, competition for housing with Chico State and Butte College students, rising housing prices, high poverty rates, and the Camp Fire of 2018 have all contributed to the unhoused population of Chico being as high as it is.
Safe Space is a resource for unsheltered people living in Chico. They are a non profit organization that provides seasonal, low barrier emergency shelter for those looking for relief from Chico’s 114 degree summers and cold and stormy winters. Without access to these kinds of shelters, people living on the street risk hypothermia and even death. This year, 27 homeless people have passed away on the streets.
On December 19th 2023, Chico sent a letter to Safe Space demanding they cease operation of their intake center, located at the vacant 7-11 building downtown. According to Chico Code Enforcement, Safe Space was in violation of zoning laws, although Safe Space claimed to be in compliance, functioning under a part of the city’s code that allowed for temporary use without a permit. The letter was issued after a citizen complaint that Safe Space had not obtained a Zoning Clearance letter determining that the proposed use is permitted in the zoning district.
Regardless of code violations, shutting down resources for people in need during the height of its usage is incredibly immoral, and cannot be done in good conscience.
In 2009, I was unhoused and living in a battered women’s shelter in Eureka due to the one in Chico being at full capacity. The Governor of California at the time, Arnold Schwarzenegger, cut $489 million from the state budget passed by the state legislature going to domestic violence shelters, which was the entire budget. Other cuts included $52 million from aids prevention, $25 million from clinics, and $50 million from Healthy Families, which helped to supply health insurance to children in low income families.
Because the shelter I was in had 100% of its budget cut, I was forced to relocate. My family and I were given 3 days worth of vouchers to a nearby hotel because I was a very young child. Other residents of the shelter were left to live on the street. The voucher ran out, and living in a hotel we could not afford, we were finally able to move into a triplex in Chico.
Had my mother not had children with her, she would have been left to live on the street along with the other women at the shelter that had lost the space keeping them alive and safe.
What Chico is doing to Safe Space, the only overnight intake shelter in the area, is eerily similar. At the height of its need, when Safe Space had reached its maximum occupancy for the first time in 10 years, code violations were enforced, leaving many on the streets during the harsh winter months cold, wet, hungry, and at risk for hypothermia and death.
A meeting on January 9th between the City of Chico and Safe Space has improved relations. Establishing clear lines of communication between the city and Safe Space was discussed at the meeting, and the Trinity Methodist Church offered up their parking lot for the intake center for the remainder of the winter season, but a long term solution has not been approached.
During all seasons year round, but especially during harsh weather seasons, it is important to remember that unhoused and unsheltered people are people just like you and me. People that are homeless do not look or act a certain way, and you do not know why or how people ended up in the situation they are in, and it is not your place to spectate or assume.
If you are interested in learning more about the lives of the unhoused community, consider taking a look at Lives Behind the Labels, an interactive exhibit and documentary showcasing art and writing workshops, as well as filmed interviews with both adults and youth currently experiencing homelessness. Located at MONCA (Museum of Northern California Art) 600 Esplanade, Chico. The event will be from March 7th to March 17th of 2024. Opening night is Friday, March 8th at 6:00pm, and refreshments will be provided.