The Turlock City Council will consider at their next meeting ending a pilot program that provided a day center and resources for local homeless individuals.
The report prepared by City staff members for the Council to consider sites cost, safety issues, questions about the effectiveness of the program and negative public comments in the recommendation to end the pilot program.
The Turlock City Council initially approved the six-month Navigation Center Pilot Program at a cost of $178,220 to be housed in a portion of the United Samaritans Foundation facility on S. Broadway and operated by the We Care Program Turlock. The center opened June 7, 2023 and was set to close in November, but the Council approved a two-month extension in order to evaluate the program that will now end on Jan. 31, if the Council opts not to extend the service contract.
During this evaluation period, City staff met with We Care staff, United Samaritans Foundation staff, service providers, and local downtown businesses to discuss the program.
One of the issues regarding the program is the request of United Samaritans that a fence be installed along both frontages of the property for safety purposes, specifically to secure the property from illegal activity in the evening (camping, drug use, prostitution, and physical altercations) when the Navigation Center is closed. The fencing was estimated to cost $40,000.
We Care provided a cost proposal to the City to manage the program for 12 months with expanded hours to align with the homeless shelter hours at an estimated cost of $425,302. This proposal does not include the cost for the requested fence by United Samaritans Foundation to continue the lease.
According to City staff, “many” downtown business owners also reported not seeing any drop in crime during the day when the Navigation Center was open.
The Navigation Center Pilot Program has provided a host of services as reported by We Care during its eight months in operation. These services included mental health counseling through La Familia with 89 reported case management appointments; therapeutic art classes used by 40 individuals; haircuts for 37 individuals; mobile medical clinic services for 61 individuals; free cell phones for 17 individuals; drug, alcohol, and grief support group meetings for 14 individuals; and case management and housing referral services for an unreported number of individuals.
It was reported by We Care that they had approximately 382 total unduplicated visitors to the Navigation Center during this timeframe and permanently housed approximately four households (seven people).
Despite the reported services being provided, City staff stated to continue to have concerns over the reported information and effectiveness of the program. Although questions and concerns were raised with We Care over how unduplicated visitors to the Navigation Center are being counted and reported, they insist that 30-50 unduplicated individuals visit the center each day but admit that most of the visitors do not stay for long periods of time and filter back into the community during the day.
Downtown business owners reported to City staff that they did not see a significant decrease in the number of homeless individuals and issues during the day while the Navigation Center was open and when they visited the Navigation Center during the day, they only observed 15-18 individuals at any given time.
The Council is also expected to consider at their next meeting:
· A presentation of the 2022-23 Active Military Banner retirement;
· Appropriating $53,700 of American Rescue Plan Act funds for the purchase of City Mobile App Solutions for three years; and
· Approving revisions to the Community Events and Activities Grant application, scoring and grant process as recommended by the Parks, Arts and Recreation Commission.
The Turlock City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Yosemite Room at City Hall, 156 S. Broadway. The meeting is open to the public and a public participation time is set aside for members of the public to directly address the City Council on any item of interest to the public that is within the jurisdiction of the City Council.
