Ledger-Dispatch

By Bethany A. Monk (bmonk@ledger-dispatch.com) =

The Central Sierra Continuum of Care = hosted a=20 roundtable discussion on regional homeless issues Thursday at the = Amador=20 County Department of Social Services building in Sutter = Creek.

Photo by: Bethany A.=20 Monk
Glenn Myers took every nickel he got = after=20 selling his house and put a down payment on another home, which he will = open=20 soon as a clean and sober place for the homeless.

Myers, from = Glenn=20 County, and nearly 50 others from several Northern and Central Valley = California=20 locations, collaborated and brainstormed on homeless issues facing the = state=20 during a Central Sierra Continuum of Care roundtable Thursday at the = Amador=20 County Department of Social Services in Sutter Creek. The day-long = meeting=20 covered issues such as providing permanent supportive housing for people = who are=20 homeless and disabled by mental illness, as well as updates from various = agencies. The continuum of care hosts the roundtable each year, and = holds the=20 event in either Amador, Calaveras or Tuolumne counties. Last year's = roundtable=20 was held in Calaveras.

"It was interesting," said Denise Chase, = director=20 of the Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency emergency homeless = shelter in=20 Jackson, adding that it was a good place to network with others who work = for=20 agencies dedicated to working on the state's homeless = problems.

"It's so=20 hard to see all the loopholes to get these things done." In March 2007, = the=20 Central Sierra Continuum of Care conducted surveys in Amador, Calaveras = and=20 Tuolumne counties. According to the point-in-time census, there were 42 = homeless=20 adults in Amador County that year, 137 in Calaveras County, and 128 in = Tuolumne=20 County, though the actual numbers are believed to be higher.

One = major=20 roadblock Central Sierra faced was getting an accurate number of each = county's=20 respective homeless, said A-TCAA housing resources director Margaret = "Beetle"=20 Barbour. Others present at the meeting chimed in regarding successful = ways in=20 which they got their respective homeless populations to fill out the = surveys,=20 which can help stakeholders better understand the needs of area = homeless.=20 Providing food packets and bags of hygiene items worked for other = counties=20 conducting the same survey, some in the audience = reported.

According to a=20 handout from Housing California, a Sacramento agency represented at the = meeting,=20 Senate Bill 1651 - which authorizes the development and implementation = of mental=20 health courts and contains a program called PROMISE, which would provide = supportive homes for mentally ill parolees - is suspended in the Senate=20 Appropriations Committee. Amador County currently has no residence for = mentally=20 ill parolees, who are supervised by the California Department of Parole, = according to Undersheriff Jim Wegner. The department refers them to = places where=20 they can get help and receive re-entry services, he added.

Gov. = Arnold=20 Schwarzenegger's May budget revise did not propose any further cuts to = housing=20 programs; on May 21. State legislators restored proposed cuts for the = California=20 Department of Housing and Community Development. The department is = funded=20 annually at $4 million, according to Housing California. Glenn, who = began=20 funding the Unity Recovery House on his own after selling his home, said = a=20 recovery house like the one he's implementing could open in Amador. He = said he's=20 received a lot of support from the community where he lives. "It's just=20 blossoming."

The homeless shelter in Jackson takes people of all = ages=20 through an interview and application process. Call 223-9215 for more=20 information.

Bethany A. = Monk