BY ALEX CANTATORE
We Care, a Turlock-based non-profit, has been caring for the homeless for the past six years. This Winter, We Care hopes to continue that work by opening a new, privately run interim housing facility on S. Broadway.
“It looks good, it looks like it’s going to work,” said Maris Sturtevant, We Care board member.
We Care staff met with City of Turlock staff last week to pursue the use of a United Samaritans Foundation-owned facility at 213/219 S. Broadway this Winter as an interim housing facility. The S. Broadway building is already zoned and permitted for such a usage, and as such would only require an occupancy inspection prior to use.
“Our Board of Directors hated to see people out on the streets in wintertime,” said Barbara Bawanan, Executive Director of USF, who will be renting the building to We Care pending City approval.
In use as transitional housing since the 70’s, USF purchased the building in 1997 and has since rented the building to transitional housing providers Community Housing and Shelter Services and Catholic Charities, among others. We Care - and about 34 homeless, less than half as many as were once at 400 B St. - hope to become the newest tenants.
The building, built in 1926, will allow We Care to offer more services for the homeless, including a reading room and space to offer programs such as drug and alcohol counseling. Another bonus of the new site will be a side entrance that will get homeless away from the sidewalk during the daily intake process, all part of We Care’s plan to have a minimal impact on its neighbors.
The City of Turlock held a preliminary occupancy inspection on Nov. 6 and came up with a list of small improvements, such as repairing self-closing doors and installing a few more smoke detectors that We Care will need to complete before the City will allow the interim housing facility to begin operations. The final inspection is scheduled for Nov. 26.
As everything is still in the planning stages, We Care was very hesitant to speak about the facility and plans prior to the final approval. They expressed optimism that the approval would come once all the required changes were implemented, and hope that their future neighbors would welcome the new interim housing facility.
We Care is expecting to open its doors to the needy on Dec. 1, just in time for the coldest and rainiest parts of the year. Currently, however, We Care only has enough funding to operate the interim housing facility for five weeks this winter, and is looking to the citizens of Turlock to help make this interim housing facility a reality.
“We’re going to have to fundraise,” Sturtevant said. “We’re going to have to get the money from the community to make this happen.”
To contact Alex Cantatore, e-mail acantatore@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2005.
Originally published in the Turlock Journal 11/11/2008.
Retrieved from the Turlock Journal Web site.