The Orange Street Shelter

Hello all - Haven't written in a while because we are still working on finding a facility - and getting things ready for our usual program for Winter. We will give you more information as we get closer to the date. In the meantime, if you want to support our work and have some fun next weekend, check out this comedy fest. Lots of strong local talent and it benefits Safe Space. Hope to see you all there.

While we are deeply saddened by WalMart’s decision regarding financial support for the Orange Street Shelter, we remain committed to our mission. We will continue to strive for solutions that benefit the entire community, and continue to seek funding for a permanent location where we can provide additional services to community members living on our streets. We’d also like to pause to thank the many supporters of our project. So, so many of you have supported us, bolstering u...s with your kind words and deeds. You’ve written letters, helped us share the project with the community, volunteered for Safe Space again and againit’s beyond words. This has truly been a community project, and wow, what a community we have. We are so proud to have worked with all of you, and we look forward to continuing this collaboration. Lastly, we need to thank Graham Hutton. We were beyond lucky to have found such a patient and supportive landlord as we worked through the details of this project. His openness, kindness and unwavering support have meant the world to us.

Another supportive letter in the Chico ER

It’s happening all over the country.

From today's ER. It's so heartening to have recognition that we need to explore new solutions. MISS The report the North Valley Community Foundation was returning a homeless grant to the Walmart Foundation is discouraging, but not surprising in light of Chico’s history on the issue. The retail company’s foundation had offered a million dollars to help address the increased needs of the local homeless population, after already pledging a million to help wildfire relief ef...forts. A low-barrier shelter is needed, because weather conditions do get deadly around here on winter nights. It also could provide a place for people to escape from being completely focused on just surviving, and allow them to begin to work on the problems that keep them on the street. But every time someone comes up with an idea that might help here, it’s attacked by the people who complain the most about the current situation. Some homeless advocates attacked the shelter idea as a concentration camp. Neighbors didn’t want it in their vicinity, apparently thinking having the homeless wandering around their homes was better than having them in a supervised facility. And then there are those who think any kind of service attracts the homeless, which doesn’t explain why everywhere in California is seeing an increase in the number of people on the streets. The conflict was enough that the Jesus Center pulled out of the partnership with Safe Space to manage the shelter. Now the NVCF has done the same. Both agencies have other objectives, and don’t need the distraction. Walmart is weighing its options, so the money could still available to Safe Space. We hope they can make something work.