PD Editorial: Many hands for the homeless this winter

The head of one of Sonoma County’s most respected agencies for the homeless has triggered some frothy debate with his criticism of Santa Rosa’s decision to assume a regulatory role in a local church-based shelter program.

Jeff Gilman, executive director of Santa Rosa’s Redwood Gospel Mission, said he believed the city’s move was “deeply troubling” and unnecessary. Moreover, he said it was likely to cause more harm than good concerning the nascent efforts by local churches to host a rotating shelter during the winter months.

The city has no business getting involved in an activity that is well-supervised and based indoors and that could infringe on the churches’ freedom of religious expression, he said. “This is the camel’s nose under the tent,” he said.

It’s a fair complaint, if there really was cause for concern. But we don’t believe there is.

The conditions being placed on the churches do not constitute an undue burden. According to city officials, they consist of asking churches to register with the city, describe their shelter plans and agree to a no-fee fire inspection. The churches also need to provide contact information in case problems arise or neighbors have questions about what is happening.

These are reasonable conditions. All the same, the city should be careful not to treat the churches as if they’ve been doing something unlawful - despite suggestions by the city attorney that this might be the case - and not to nose its way much further into this operation.

The 30 churches involved deserve more commendation than regulation. Last year, during the first year of the program, they banded together with the Redwood Gospel Mission to do something that few others were doing - providing emergency overnight shelter for those most in need. The “Nomadic Shelter” program operated from October to April, and organizers have set out to offer the same services this year, which is promising to be a cold and wet fall and winter.

Santa Rosa Mayor John Sawyer says the city only wants to help but it needs to make sure that the churches are abiding by the zoning laws and offering services that “are compatible with surrounding neighborhoods.”

Fair enough. But let’s keep in mind that homelessness is not compatible with any neighborhood - nor should it be tolerable. What the churches are doing is ensuring that the problem is addressed through a shelter program that rotates among numerous neighborhoods, ensuring neither the problem not the solution is concentrated in just one or two. The result is a system that’s more a part of the solution than the problem.

Thankfully, it’s one of many solutions emerging as the region works to ensure that the homeless are not forgotten this winter. Having already set aside an area where people can live in their cars, Sonoma County is now looking at possible sites for installing tiny houses, including mobile trailers, small cabins or shipping containers, for the homeless. Meanwhile, the Santa Rosa City Council, as part of its efforts to broaden its homeless services, this week agreed to spend $87,450 for a portable trailer with facilities that will allow the homeless to use a bathroom and take a hot shower.

In short, many hands are making light work of a problem that once seemed too heavy to handle. That’s the way to do it.