BY ALEX CANTATORE
Staff Reporter

While the plans to develop a short-term solution to homelessness in Turlock have all but stalled, the effort to address homelessness long-term is still right on track. The group tasked with drafting a charter for the new Turlock Homeless Action Committee held its final meeting Thursday evening, and the new group is expected to be off the ground by October.

The concept of a Homeless Action Committee was first proposed by the September 2007 report on homelessness generated by the California State University, Stanislaus Center for Public Policy Studies at the bequest of the Turlock City Council. After some gnashing of teeth, the council approved funding a second CPPS-facilitated effort at their April 1 meeting, intended to further develop the concept of an action committee.

Five months and 12 meetings later, the planning group has worked through several contentious issues to draft a working document that various stakeholders can all be happy with.

“We’re glad we got through that part of it,” said Maris Sturtevant, Chief Operations Officer of United Samaritans Foundation.

The current plan outlines an 11-member committee, representing businesses, churches, homeless service providers, and the homeless themselves. The Action Committee’s mission, put simply, is to draft a plan to move people out of homelessness without negatively impacting the community.

“I think it was a positive experience,” said Julie Fox, Director of the CSUS Office of Service Learning. “Any time you bring the community together to seek solutions to a problem, you’re on the right track.”

A letter is currently being hand-delivered to each of the organizations chosen by the planning group as voting blocks in the THAC. Each organization is asked to nominate a voting member to be nominated by the fourth week of September.

The CPPS will continue to facilitate discussion for the first meeting of the THAC, likely to take place in October, but after that it will be up to the myriad interests to come together to develop a strategic plan on their own.

“(We) appreciated the opportunity to participate in the discussion so far,” said Fox. “We found it informative and we look for to continuing to work as a committee partner to continue to discuss and seek solutions to these complex issues.”

To contact Alex Cantatore, e-mail acantatore@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2005.

Originally published in the Turlock Journal 8/29/2008.
Retrieved from the Turlock Journal Web site.