Placer County to provide meals at temporary shelter in Auburn

Practical steps have been taken to help the homeless

Auburn, California – Placer County temporary shelter In North Auburn you will soon be providing meals to campers. Since there are no kitchen facilities or food storage capacity in the camp, camp residents must currently leave the shelter every day for meals.

During today’s meeting, the Board of Supervisors supported the request to provide two meals a day through an existing contract with Summit Food Services, which currently provides approximately 2,400 meals per day to inmates in the county’s prison system.

The new MTS at the Placer County Government Center has been in place for two weeks and shelter rules prohibit stoves or cooking fires for preparing meals. The rules are meant to prevent fires and reduce the spread of rodents and insects, but they also make it difficult for campers to prepare meals.

“It’s important to understand that we’re learning as we go and using an adaptive management approach to find what works and eliminate what doesn’t,”

Marshall Hooper, chief probation officer

Adds Marshall, “We would like to secure meals for these individuals so they can spend less time commuting through neighborhoods to get to businesses on Highway 49, which is the closest available source of food. The food service will also encourage campers to engage more with shelter staff to build trust and relationships.” , which may eventually lead to them accepting services to help them get to a better place in life.”

Service provider and costs

Summit Food Services She agreed to provide MTS with an additional 100 meals per day at a cost of $40,000 for the next four months. The current contract is sufficient to cover the increased cost without adjusting the budget.

“While I support the request, I also want to make sure that shelter residents are asked to help with food distribution and clean-up efforts so they can be involved in the process of caring for themselves,” said District 5 Superintendent Cindy Gustafson. “Our goal is to help people return to being productive members of society to the best of their abilities, so it is important that we look for opportunities to provide them with responsibilities.”

“I think Placer County is an example for other counties where we work within the laws that protect the non-homeless.”

Shanti Landon, District 2 Superintendent

Showers, toilets and drinking water

Currently, 46 out of 50 tents at MTS are occupied. MTS includes showers, restrooms, drinking water, and a brick-and-mortar facility that is always open to campers looking for a respite from the weather or wanting to engage with shelter staff. First Step Communities, a nonprofit organization from Sacramento with experience operating low-barrier shelters, offers 24/7 on-site management with support from the Placer County Probation Department.

The former homeless camp across the street is now empty of people and has been fenced in but will open, by appointment, to individuals searching for their property within the next 90 days.

“I just want to say thank you to our probation department and the CEO’s staff for their professionalism in handling a very difficult situation,” said District 2 Supervisor Shanti Landon. “I think Placer County is an example for other counties where we work within laws that protect the homeless. Ultimately, we do everything we can to help individuals experiencing homelessness, but we also are very aware of the need to protect our neighborhoods and businesses from the element of crime that is often associated with campgrounds.” Homeless “.

Signs of success

The low-barrier shelter is already showing signs of success, with many campers reunited with family members and others voluntarily enrolling in educational and vocational programs aimed at helping them find jobs. First step communities Meaningful data will be tracked to help county staff evaluate the pilot for six months and report back to the Board of Supervisors.