The Stanislaus Community System of Care, and the Stanislaus Homeless Alliance will begin their point-in-time count of the county’s homeless population tonight, and conclude on Thursday morning.
Last year, the count showed there were 2,052 unhoused persons in Stanislaus County, with 201 of those in Turlock. That was down from 2023 (2,091/233). However, those figures were up slightly from a year before (1,857/211).
The Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated that more than 770,000 people in the U.S. were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2024, an 18 percent increase from 2023. HUD also found that there were nearly 190,000 homeless people — about a quarter of the nation’s homeless population — resided in California.
As we approach winter's midpoint, Turlock has a wide array of services available to its homeless residents.
The We Care overnight shelter, located at 219 S. Broadway, has 49 beds for men only, and opens daily at 5:30 p.m., with residents required to exit by 7:30 a.m. the following morning.
“We’re full most nights, but we haven’t turned anybody away recently,” said Corey Mai, We Care’s director of operations. “Occasionally, we have to turn away one or two people. I think the most we’ve ever had to turn away was eight.”
Dinner is served at We Care’s new 1,600-square-foot dining hall, and on Wednesday mornings a breakfast is provided by La Familia’s substance-abuse counseling program.
The substance-abuse program is also offered on Mondays and Fridays (no breakfast), free to anybody who would like to attend, regardless of housing status.
Modesto-based Telecare is utilizing office space in the We Care shelter Tuesday through Friday to conduct behavioral health and substance abuse assessments, in hopes of getting guests set up with potential services.
We Care also hosts a laundry shuttle on Tuesdays and a shower shuttle on Wednesdays.
Just down the street at 437 S. Broadway, Turlock Gospel Mission provides overnight shelter for men, women and children. Guests can sign-in beginning at 4:15 p.m., and must exit by 7 a.m. the following morning.
Turlock Gospel Mission also provides meals in the John and Jeani Ferrari dining hall.
TGM offers a year-long, Bible-based program designed to help individuals with recovery, vocational training, and spiritual development. The program includes recovery from addiction, domestic violence, childhood abuse, co-dependency, overeating, and more.
Additionally, TGM conducts the Nourish job readiness program — a year of concentrated culinary training that includes classroom and in-kitchen skill development.
Across the street, at 220 S. Broadway, the United Samaritans Foundation offers free meals five days a week at various locations around town.
“We have 13 different scheduled stops,” said executive director Linda Murphy-Julien. “A truck will go out, honk its horn, and is never in one place longer than about 12 to 15 minutes.
“All the food is made in the morning and the trucks are on the road by 11:30 because they have to be in by 4 p.m.”
Last year, USF served 95,969 meals — 8,000 per month — in Turlock alone.
Additionally, USF provides mail service for about 430 clients.
“People need a place to get their SSI checks or veteran benefits or EBT cards,” said Murphy-Julien. “And if you don’t have a mailing address, you can miss out.”
