Fresno County’s COVID beds will begin to go away. Here’s what leaders want to do
Fresno County officials said about half of the beds that have been available to house the homeless through the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to go offline next month, and officials say long-term funding remains unclear.
The other half of the beds will dry up in June as the county will refocus on permanent housing, according to Sonia de la Rosa, principal administrative analyst for the county and point person for homelessness.
Officials said they are ramping up efforts to vaccinate the homeless population. The first mobile COVID-19 clinics will target those 65 or older and those with underlying health conditions, according to Dawana Utecht, director of Fresno County Behavioral Health.
“Clinics that will go not just to the shelters but to the locations where individuals experiencing homelessness typically seek services,” she said. “We believe it will be in the best interest to transport individuals experiencing homelessness in the rural areas to the rural clinics as vaccine clinics become available.”
Fresno County, the city of Fresno and the Continuum of Care have pulled down about $18 million in federal relief dollars meant to help slow the spread of COVID-19 among the homeless population.
That does not include funding under Project Homekey, an $835 million state initiative Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced in July to turn underutilized hotels and motels into homeless housing.
Officials said the programs have helped a non-duplicated 1,500 people who don’t have permanent housing. They say that number is fairly consistent in the county as people rotate to different types of shelters or back onto the street.
The problem is greater than that. Total homelessness in Fresno and Madera grew from 2,508 people in 2019 to 3,641 people in 2020, according to results from January’s point-in-time count — three months before the coronavirus pandemic hit the central San Joaquin Valley. The two counties have a joint Continuum of Care.
Officials have noted a portion of the population refuses help when it is offered. Others continue to criticize how the effort to house people is handled.
Homeless advocate Brandi Nuse-Villegas said she’s heard stories from people who were living around Santa Clara Street, a part of Fresno that often draws an encampment, who were told how to get into one of the beds only to have county employees tell them later the beds weren’t available.
“This is cruel,” she said. “They face many challenges in this process and need help.”
Rebecca Ernest said she does not have a substance abuse problem or criminal record so she can’t understand why she can’t get into a county bed even after being initially told she could have one. “This homeless stuff isn’t working,” she said.
Long-term homeless solution?
A larger problem is hanging over the heads of county employees addressing homelessness: How can the county afford to keep up the permanent housing long-term?
Officials said all of their funding is committed to programs, saying the county is not holding onto any of it. Many of the motels and shelters will eventually transition to affordable housing though that deadline of two to three years is squishy, De la Rosa said.
Fresno County has added hundreds of beds after buying up motels and partnering with others for permanent housing facilities, according to Delfino Neira, director of the county Department of Social Services.
“The sustainability long-term is something we need to address,” he said. “We need long-term commitments from our state and federal partners.”
