Winter Shelter for our Unhoused Residents

Background: The City of Davis, in coordination with several stakeholder organizations, is planning for winter shelter for our homeless Davis and Yolo County neighbors. The current proposal being advanced by the City’s Social Service and Housing Department is to use the city-owned house at 512 5th Street as congregate shelter for up to 10 people, with Davis Community Meals and Housing (DCMH) providing staffing, case management and administration of the program.

HEART of Davis (formerly Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter) is enthusiastically supportive of and interested in contributing to sheltering those who need it during the cold winter months. We stand ready to provide volunteers to provide food and other resources to those in need. However, we firmly believe that the 5th Street house is the wrong venue for this purpose at this time, for the following reasons:

• The 5th St facility is far too small to address the need. Historically, there have been at least 20-25 people needing cold weather shelter on a nightly basis in Davis. Sacramento homeless camp sweeps will likely increase the need.

• As a congregate shelter it may well be a source of COVID-19 outbreaks, during which time it will have to be closed, as has been the case with the 4th and Hope Shelter in Woodland.
  

  • During the closures, the only alternative will be using motel or hotel rooms for non- congregate shelter, or to provide nothing at all.
  • The California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) shelter guidance (dated May 6, 2022) advises: “ When possible, the use of alternative housing sites or non-congregate settings should be considered in lieu of congregate shelters.” (See the attached rationale, written by Dr. Sheri Belafsky, UC Davis Department of Public Health Sciences, in consultation with the Yolo County Public Health Officer).

• Some hotel rooms will be needed anyway for the vulnerable population. Those who are at highest risk for COVID will need to be sheltered in separate motel/hotel rooms to minimize health risks.
  • The City will then be implementing a second track of non-congregate shelter, which will require separate management. The City could reduce management costs and staff time by running just one non-congregate shelter program.
  • It will be very difficult to for our volunteers to provide food at two locations

Projected Costs: The room costs of such a program, assuming ~20 people per night for 4 months (120 days) would be 20 rooms x $100/night x 120 nights= $240,000. Demand each night will depend on the weather and other factors, such as screening criteria. HEART of Davis has offered a matching contribution $25K, which has thus far not been accepted by the city. Additional fundraising to pay for rooms, supplies, and other resources will be needed, and possible sources would be other organizations in Davis who support the homeless, the local business community, and, of course, the city.

What you need to know: Dana Bailey, Director of Davis’ Department of Social Services and Housing, is hosting a meeting with multiple interested organizations on Thursday, October 6, to present her current plan. The City Council will discuss this item at its October 18 meeting.

What you can do: Please spread the word to your networks and constituencies that the City Council needs to direct staff to pursue shelter options that can accommodate 20 or more people, such as a motel- based shelter. Please contact City Council members directly using the contact information below. Tell them:

1. Winter shelter for our homeless neighbors is desperately needed in Davis.

2. The proposal to use the city house for congregate shelter is both inadequate to address the need, and unsafe, from a public health point of view.

3. Motel/Hotel-based shelter, like that provided last year, is probably our best option at this time, since we know how to run such a program and it needs to be up and running in a month.

4. The City needs to, and can, find resources to run such a program. All that is needed is the political will.

5. The Council should direct staff to focus on non-congregate shelter options that can house 20+ people/night.

Please contact the City Council, and plan to attend the October 18 City Council meeting. Spread the word!

Lucas Frerichs

Mayor

City Council District 3

Term Ends: 2024

lucasf@cityofdavis.org

 

Will Arnold

Vice Mayor

City Council District 2

Term Ends: 2024

warnold@cityofdavis.org

 

Dan Carson

Councilmember
Elected "At large"

(resides District 1)
Term Ends: 2022

dcarson@cityofdavis.org

 

Josh Chapman

Councilmember

City Council District 5

Term Ends: 2024

jchapman@cityofdavis.org

 

Gloria Partida

Elected "At large"

(resides District 4)
Term Ends: 2022

gpartida@cityofdavis.org

 

Attachment. Analysis from Dr. Sheri Belafsky
Rationale for non-congregate shelter whenever feasible this winter:

• While case rates and hospitalizations have been trending down over the past month, significant virus circulation remains throughout California—including Sacramento and Yolo counties. Per CDC data, Yolo County currently has a “low community level”, however, “community transmission”, which reflects the presence and spread of COVID–19, is still “substantial”. (https://www.yolocounty.org/government/general-government-departments/health-human- services/adults/communicable-disease-investigation-and-control/covid-19)

• Currently, the behavior of the COVID-19 virus is unpredictable, and the development of new variants this winter is possible.

• Congregate emergency winter shelter constitutes a high-risk transmission setting for a population disproportionately at high risk for COVID-19 complications.

• CDPH’s shelter guidance (dated May 6, 2022) advises: “When possible, the use of alternative housing sites or non-congregate settings should be considered in lieu of congregate shelters.” (https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/infection-control-guidance- clients-congregate-shelter-including-homelessness.aspx). CDPH also advises that “Non- congregate housing should also be prioritized for:… those who are at high-risk for severe COVID-19 infection or medical complications should they become infected, such as people over 65 or those who have underlying health conditions that increase the risk of severe COVID-19 infection.”

• CDC recommendations for “medium” community levels include:

  • Testing in high-risk settings (these include settings that are enclosed with poor ventilation, and where there is close contact between residents
  • Masking with a high-quality mask if at high risk of complications from COVID-19 infection
    (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html)

• In the event of COVID-19 outbreaks, other shelters with congregate housing have been forced to close intermittently with subsequent urgent re-housing of their guests in motel rooms to isolate.