Los Gatos City Council this week doubled its budgeted allotment to assist the city’s unhoused residents to $50,000, which can go towards short-term short-term shelter and public restrooms.
Some stated the quantity was removed from sufficient. At Tuesday night time’s council assembly, Councilmember Rob Moore proposed upping the contribution to $100,000 to provide every of the 16 reported unhoused residents on the town roughly one month out of the 12 months in a lodge.
“About half of our people… have grown up in Los Gatos and have gone to the highschool right here,” stated Jo Griener, founder and director of St. Luke’s Pantry Program, which gives free meals each Tuesday. “And others have lived a number of to a number of many years in our neighborhood, so it’s very a lot their neighborhood.”
Council initially allotted $25,000 of its American Rescue Plan Act funds to assist unhoused Los Gatans at its Feb. 1 assembly following the extraordinary rainfall and winds this winter that left some residents outdoors throughout the worst of it, some creating hypothermia, Griener stated.
Councilmembers weren’t fairly on board with Moore’s proposal, which might have allotted $70,000 for lodge vouchers and $20,000 for moveable bogs and $10,000 for to assist an present bathe program, saying it was too expensive given the city’s impending price range deficit.
Councilmember Rob Rennie proposed bumping Moore’s proposal down from $100,000 to $50,000 and requested workers to interrupt down how the voucher program would work.
“As an alternative of spending cash on a program that’s not clear in any respect, I’d quite allocate some cash to it now, however earlier than the cash will get spent have workers carry again what the construction of this program” is, Rennie stated
Moore says spending $20,000 on lodge vouchers would give simply 10 residents slightly over per week in a lodge per 12 months, which doesn't meet the present want.
“Proper now we now have no choices for folk, so I feel we have to do one thing to offer shelter for our homeless residents quite than do nothing,” Moore stated. “If we don't spend money on a voucher program tonight, we're saying we're not going to do something to shelter our homeless neighbors.”
Native church buildings that volunteer to feed native unhoused residents stated there are 16 common residents that make the most of native providers. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church gives weekly meals and grocery baggage of wholesome meals to residents.
United Methodist gives free showers, and native St. Vincent De Paul volunteers present laundry vouchers at a neighborhood laundromat and handed out lodge vouchers throughout the newest excessive climate occasions.
Ed Lozowicki, who volunteers at St. Vincent De Paul, stated an unhoused neighborhood member was caught in a tree for 10 hours this winter as a result of the bottom was flooded and he couldn’t get down.
The church volunteers had a spotlight group assembly with the native unhoused residents and located they wanted 24/7 public restrooms and emergency shelter throughout tough climate.
Kylie Clark, who works with unhoused residents via West Valley Neighborhood Companies, stated she talked with a few of the residents forward of the assembly.
“Once I requested why they keep right here, one resident stated, ‘We like it right here; it’s our dwelling.’ One other stated, ‘It’s onerous to depart a spot the place you may have all of your reminiscences,’” Clark stated. “We have to acknowledge that some individuals dwelling right here have infinitely lower than we do, and we due to this fact want to speculate extra assets in our most susceptible neighborhood members.”
The city has been contracting with West Valley Neighborhood Companies to offer providers like monetary help for utilities and hire, and entry to meals and monetary coaching.
In 2021, city council adopted a decision in assist of the county’s neighborhood plan to finish homelessness.
Council added supporting the city’s unhoused residents to its strategic priorities for the 12 months.
Los Gatos police spent a minimum of 20 hours every month serving to unhoused residents entry providers, and an officer checks on them a minimum of as soon as per week.