Plan would expand homeless shelter’s day center. Here’s when Modesto Council votes
City staff will update the City Council at its Tuesday meeting on Modesto’s response to the homelessness crisis. But before that, council members are expected to approve paying The Salvation Army nearly $570,000 in federal money to operate a day center for homeless people.
Most of the facilities would be under canopies at the army’s Berberian Center campus at Ninth and D streets near downtown.
The campus includes two shelters that have 393 beds between them and are operating at 95% capacity, according to the army, and Stanislaus County’s Access Center, which provides help for the homeless. One of the shelters is the army’s and the other is the county’s, though the army operates both.
A city report states the day center would be for any people who are homeless, including those who are not shelter clients.
Salvation Army Maj. Harold Laubach said in an interview the army essentially has been operating a day center for shelter clients since the pandemic. He said before COVID-19, shelter clients had to leave during the day, but that changed in early 2020 during the pandemic.
The army has picnic tables set up beneath canopies for its shelter clients during the day, Laubach said. The tables and canopies will be used for the day center, according to the city report. The Berberian Center and a classroom in the army’s administration building on the campus also will be used.
He said homeless people coming off the street to use the day center could get something to eat (the day center would be open weekdays), as well as use the showers and laundry three days a week. He said they could take classes in such topics as life skills, anger management and financial literacy and access other help, including case management.
“We have not been able to offer services to people outside of the shelter clients because of the COVID restrictions,” Laubach said. “Those restrictions were dropped in the beginning of April. We now can invite people (onto our campus).”
A homeless man and woman hanging out in downtown Friday afternoon by the Gallo Center for the Arts and across the street from Stanislaus County Superior Court weighed in on the day center.
The man said he’d be interested in what the center has to offer but would want to come and go as he likes. “Whatever they give you, I’d take the offer,” said Anthony, 36, who declined to give his last name. Anthony said he does not stay at shelters because he does not like the rules.
The woman said she’d be willing to check out the day center as long as she felt safe. The 49-year-old, who said she has been homeless off and on since she was 18, said she worries other homeless people would steal her belongings. She said people stole her identify when she was living at the Modesto Outdoor Emergency Shelter, the temporary tent city Modesto opened a few years ago.
Funding for a year. What then?
The city report states the agreement for the day center is for three years, but the nearly $570,000 covers one year of operations. The city will look to partner with the county and others to fund the center beyond the first year, the report states.
The nearly $570,000 is from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for efforts to help homeless people or people at risk of homelessness. The city received nearly $632,000 from HUD in one-time funding in September 2022. The city would spend nearly $63,300 on its own administrative costs related to the day center.
After this agenda item, council members will hear a presentation on “Modesto’s response to homelessness, including an update on current projects and regional partnerships,” according to the meeting agenda. No staff report was included with the agenda to provide any details.
The City Council meets at 5:30 p.m. in the basement chambers of Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St. The meeting also will be held over Zoom. The meeting ID is 869 4597 0570 and the passcode is 84326.
