Despite pushback, Lodi Council sticks with decision on homeless center operator

Oct. 20—Despite protests of some two dozen residents, the Salvation Army will still be operating Lodi's permanent access center once it is complete.

Those who spoke during the public comment portion of Wednesday's Lodi City Council meeting urged leaders to reverse their Sept. 9 decision and award an operating contract to Inner City Action, the Stockton nonprofit organization that has been operating the Sacramento Street shelter for the last year.

Many speakers were members of the Lodi Committee on Homelessness, and said they were dumbfounded as to why the council awarded an operating contract to the Salvation Army, when city staff had clearly recommended Inner City Action.

The committee, which provided input to city staff as to which organization should operate the shelter, favored Inner City Action.

Committee member Johnny Coughran, a pastor at Gravity Church who regularly volunteers at the access center, said that between July of 2022 and August of this year, Inner City Action was able to transition 111 people out of homelessness and into housing or a rehabilitation facility.

He compared that to the Salvation Army's transition rate at its Modesto shelter, and said the organization had only transitioned 125 people in four years based on information he received from Modesto's Community Development Division.

"(Inner City Action) is an organization that did not have an established relationship (in Lodi)," Coughran said. "If you can't see that that's blowing the roof off the place ... these numbers are not expected. I don't understand what's going on here. I don't understand what you guys are voting for. Are you going to vote for a brand, or vote for something that's working? Fix the problem."

On Sept. 9, the council voted 4-0 to award a nearly $2.7 million contract to the Salvation Army to operate the access center, citing its 30 years of experience serving the Lodi community.

In its proposal, the organization said it would have 17 full-time and 23 part-time employees at the access center, and most likely volunteers.

Staff recommended Inner City Action, which proposed operating costs of $2.2 million, with 26 full-time and 22 part-time employees on-site.

These numbers were a point of contention for committee member David Diskin, who lectured the council for voting for a contract that will cost the city half a million dollars more and provide $336,000 less in staffing.

He claimed because the Salvation Army is a corporation, the local Hope Harbor chapter is contractually required to send $558,000 in funding it receives to operate the access center to division headquarters in Los Angeles County.

Conversely, he said, funding provided to Inner City Action to operate the shelter would remain in Lodi and San Joaquin County.

"You voted for a bid that sends half a million dollars outside Lodi," Diskin said. "For that $588,000, Inner City Action could have hired a full-time attorney, an IT manager, a grants manager, an account and officer manager, an HR specialist and a volunteer coordinator, and still have $65,000 left over."

Former city councilman Mark Chandler was once opposed to citing the access center on Sacramento Street, but after touring Inner City Action's Manteca shelter and the Lodi shelter, he was convinced the nonprofit would be the better choice for operating the facility.

He even swayed North Sacramento Street property owners who also once opposed the shelter.

"The Salvation Army doesn't do (Inner City Action's) kind of work, so I think they're unqualified to do it," he said. "The clientele Inner City Action deals with doesn't want to work with the Salvation Army. So you're going to see a decline in participation from those folks."

Lodi resident Shannon Bowles was one of about six former access center clients who said they didn't want to work with the Salvation Army to get off the streets.

Bowles, 51, is a native Lodian who just nine months ago was living in a tent under a Highway 99 overpass. Today, he said, he is the assistant manager at Gravity Church's Second Step Home, is clean and sober and took care of his medical and mental health issues.

All of that was through inner City Action, he said.

"I've had a lot of experience with the Salvation Army, and they are great — in their realm," he said. "If you want to get off drugs and go to a program, go see the Salvation Army. They'll help you out. But if you want mental health help, you want to put your life back together, you want reunification with family, then you need to keep dealing with Inner City Action."

Members of the Salvation Army disputed the claims made by Coughran and Diskin, stating that between Aug. 16 of 2022 and Aug. 22 of this year, 638 individuals were staying at Hope Harbor on North Sacramento Street.

Of those, 75 went through the organization's six-month pre-program looking to kick their drug and alcohol addictions.

Another 60 went through its adult rehab center, and of those, 35 graduated. Of those graduates, 14 left for full-time hosing, officials said.

Maj. Mark Thielenhaus, who manages Hope Harbor, added that only 10% of the facility's funding is sent to division headquarters in Southern California, and the rest will remain in Lodi.

"The Salvation Army is experienced in offering low-barrier options," he said. "We have a proven track record to have people on the continuum from homelessness to resources and next steps, their well-being, shelter and housing. We have a proven track record to move clients along battling addiction and get them help in their recovery and job training. And we have a proven track record of operating a shelter with high standards of transparency, accountability, safety, reporting and direct services."

After nearly two hours of testimony, Mayor Mikey Hothi said he would make a motion to reconsider the council's Sept. 9 decision, and hoped his colleagues were swayed as well.

"One of my proudest moments as a council member was to approve the access center in 2021," he said. "And I was proud to hear the stories from all the people who have worked and stayed at the access center tonight. I do think we made a mistake at the last council meeting, switching from Inner City Action as operators of that facility."

His fellow council members, however, said that while Inner City Action had done an outstanding job over the last year, they were not going to change their minds. Hothi's motion failed, as none of his colleagues supported it.

"My biggest fear is, and it's a researched fear ... Inner City Action gets this and we start having a flood of homeless from other areas into our place," Councilman Cameron Bregman said. "I want to help the people of Lodi, but don't want to help all the homeless outside our city limits. If we want to make Lodi the destination for pristine homeless services, it will become just that."

Vice Mayor Lisa Craig, who was absent Sept. 9 but submitted a letter supporting the Salvation Army, said she and her colleagues were faced with Solomon's Choice.

"I think Inner City Action has done some wonderful work, but the Salvation Army didn't get that option to run the temporary access center," she said. "Who's to say if they had that option to do a low-barrier center, they wouldn't have been just as effective? As wonderful as comments have been tonight, I don't think (Inner City Action) is going to leave town. I think every one of them and all their volunteers are committed to a successful transition experience between a temporary and permanent access center."