Ukiah shelter reopens with portable plumbing

Ukiah’s only homeless shelter has been reopened on a limited basis as the $57,000 reconstruction of its bathroom and shower facilities drags on weeks longer than expected.

It’s likely to be at least another week before the work is completed and all 50 of the Buddy Eller shelter’s dormitory beds can be utilized, said Jacque Williams, executive director of the nonprofit Ford Street Project, which owns the shelter.

“It’s kind of hard to line up subcontractors this time of year,” she said.

Currently, the shelter can accommodate a maximum of 30 people because it doesn’t have adequate bathroom facilities, Williams said.

Those facilities comprise five portable toilets and two sinks located in the parking lot outside, but the shelter’s clients Tuesday didn’t seem to care. It’s a lot better than spending the night in the cold or rain, Robert Douglas said.

“If it wasn’t for this place, I would probably get a tent” and camp outside, he said.

Douglas said he became homeless after losing his job at a local mill a year ago. He said he was fired because he missed two days of work when he was jailed for ignoring traffic tickets issued for a broken taillight and driving without insurance. The lapse also resulted in him losing his driver’s license, making it tough to get a new job, he said.

Dean Stevens said he’d be sleeping in his vehicle if the shelter were not open. Stevens said he is disabled and qualifies for assisted housing, but it’s hard to find a landlord who will accept Section 8 or similar housing vouchers.

“I really need to find a place,” he said.

Until the facility is fully functional, the shelter is accepting only local people and is giving preference to people with children and those with special needs or disabilities, shelter officials said.

Even then, it will be open for only three months. It was open year-round until earlier this year, when it was shuttered because it costs too much to operate.

Marlene Kurowski, director of the Plowshares community food kitchen, said she’s glad the shelter is open, but “it’s not the solution” to the widespread problem of homelessness, which is challenging cities and counties throughout the country.

She’s on a multiagency committee seeking better solutions, including services to help people out of homelessness and finding longer-term solutions to those without homes, such as Sonoma County’s program that provides safe places for people to camp in their cars.

Anyone who wants to find out whether a bed is available at the Ukiah shelter may phone the facility at 468-6427.

You can reach Staff Writer ?Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or ?glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MendoReporter.