Highlights from the 2013 Butte Countywide Homeless Census & Survey

Some interesting stats from the Butte Countywide Homeless Continuum of Care 2013 Point -In-Time Homeless Census & Survey Report (since 2011):

·      Overall homelessness in Butte County has gone down 12%.

·      Child homelessness has increased 22%

·      Those who reported sharing housing with family or a friend increased 29%.

·      Those who reported “employment/financial reasons” as the cause of homelessness decreased 22%.

·      Those who reported “no job or income” as a barrier to housing decreased 27%.

·      The most frequently reported type of living situation reported was unsheltered at 31%.

·      63% reported having lived in Butte county for five years or longer.

·      35% were chronically homeless.

·      29% reported having some college level education.

·      23% reported having a pet.

·      12% reported military service.

·      32% reported having a physical disability?

·      23% reported having a mental illness.

·      3% reported being under Post-Release Community Supervision (AB 109).

"Sit - Lie" causes people to stand and fight

Tempers flared over the controversial "Sit-Lie" Ordinance which was adopted by the Chico City Council at the Nov. 5, meeting. The ordinance makes it illegal to sit or lie down on the sidewalk in front of any Chico business. 

I'm not sure which one of them started it, but two men sitting next to me at the meeting almost came to blows.

"I aught to kick your ass," said the owner of a local business.

"Well if you're feeling froggy, then jump," said a man who supported the homeless.

"You're lucky I don't have my gun," said the business owner.

"You gonna shoot me?" said the homeless supporter.

"I aught to slap you," said the business owner.

"You ain't big enough to slap me," said the man who supported the homeless.

After the meeting, they were chin to chin at the end of the isle. 

"Are you threatening me in a public place?" said the homeless supporter, loud for everyone to hear.

"Go fuck yourself," said the business owner, as he walked away.

Other comments were made during the meeting as residents voiced their opinions on the matter. When a homeless man named Tim Brennan struggled to ask the Council why it was illegal to sleep outside, a man from the crowd said, "Smoke another one."

When Doug Gillian, owner of Crush, went over his allotted time, a man yelled, "Don't interrupt the capitalist!"

Church on the Street

Orchard Church of Chico, Sunday Night Barbecue in Downtown City Plaza

               
You could smell the coals two blocks away. I wasn't even sure anyone was going to be there after what happened at the last City Council meeting. But once the smell of charcoal hit my nose through the cool evening air, I knew it was on.

When I got there it looked like it was over. There were no barbecues in sight, and no one was eating, but people were still milling around.

I saw a man that I had met the night before at the meeting. His name was John and he was homeless. John had worked as a welder for 30 years until he got hurt.

I asked John if he Knew Pastor Jim Culp. He said yes and introduced me to him.

Orchard Church of Chico has been putting on weekly        

Pastor Jim Culp of Orchard Church

barbecues to feed the homeless for the past five years.

Recently, they were asked to obtain a permit to continue with the event. After the permit was approved, certain members of the City Council weren't sure if letting them continue was such a good idea due to all of the issues downtown Chico has been dealing with over the last few years due to homelessness.

I asked Culp what he thought about the City putting the future of their permit and their event on the agenda for discussion at the next City Council meeting.

"I think a lot of it is just a misconception of what's going on down here," Culp said.

"The misconception is that we are drawing homelessness into downtown. Instead, we're bringing people to meet it head on.

"Our goal is to be able to work with the City to find the right solution. And yet, we're very certain that this is within our constitutional right to be able to do: to be able to be here, to be able to assemble freely as a religious organization. And really, it is not within the City's purview of who we choose to gather as our congregants. And so, we don't want to fight that fight, we're willing to jump through the hoops, but we will fight that fight."

Kevin Dougherty

                                                                   
Kevin Dougherty is an Orchard Church success story.
After being asked to leave The Well, a home for homeless men who are struggling with alcohol addiction, and spending five and a half months at the Torres Shelter, Dougherty said that someone from Orchard Church stopped him from doing something stupid.

Soon after that, someone else from Orchard asked him if he had ever gone to college.

"No!" Dougherty said, "and I'm not going."

Within a week, Dougherty had filled out his application for financial aid. This Spring he will be graduating from Butte College with two associate degrees and has just applied to Chico State where he will continue to study social work and behavioral health.

As I was leaving the Plaza, a came across a park ranger named Eric. I asked Ranger Eric what he thought about the whole thing:

"This event has been going on for a while. We reached out to them to get everyone in compliance. Not to shut people down, to get people in compliance, because there's insurance involved. There's just a whole event process, and that's where we left off."