Affordable housing comes on line in Butte

Demand fierce; homelessness unresolved
by Natalie Hanson | Posted September 18, 2023

photo by Leslie Layton
Butte County Housing Authority Executive Director Ed Mayer at the play area of North Creek Crossings, an affordable housing complex.

Affordable housing for low-income renters is growing increasingly available across Butte County -– even as the population of unhoused people grows.

There has been progress on the housing gap as new affordable housing developments come on line, and more expensive homes free up units for those qualifying for low-income units, said Butte County Housing Authority Executive Director Ed Mayer.

However, Mayer’s skeptical that the 3,056 new, affordable homes that are planned, under construction or recently opened can put more than a dent in demand in this county of about 200,000 residents.

The region’s housing crisis has been exacerbated by wildfires, as well as the huge discrepancy between average incomes and rents and home prices. Two years ago, in an interview with ChicoSol, Mayer estimated that 6,000 units were needed. read more

The American lottery: affordable housing

Demand intense for low-income housing in Butte
by Leslie Layton | Posted September 18, 2023

photo by Leslie Layton
Housing Authority Executive Director Ed Mayer looks out at the community room at the North Creek Crossings Apartments that opened in June and were built in partnership with the agency he leads.

When the Butte County Housing Authority opened its Section 8 waitlist for low-income housing early this year, it was flooded with 8,368 applications from this county and beyond.

A portion of those applicants entered a lottery for a Section 8 housing voucher. Each year, only 1,500 win the lottery. And even more alarming is the fact that only about half of the lottery “winners” -– the 750 who had been selected by lottery for a voucher -– find and rent an affordable unit in Butte County in the time frame they’re given.

For thousands of Butte County residents -– and in fact, for millions of Americans -– winning the lottery means, literally, landing in a housing unit they can afford, or even just landing a chance at said housing unit. read more

State will help California cities prepare for heat

Cities like Chico are under pressure to protect the unhoused
by Natalie Hanson | Posted September 12, 2023

photo courtesy of City of Chico
Chico’s tree canopy provides relief on hot days.

Cities like Chico are under growing pressure to protect people from harm and death as waves of extreme heat become more commonplace — and after California faced its hottest month on record.

The state, meanwhile, says it is launching a new program to help vulnerable communities — particularly the unhoused and aging populations — face increasingly hot seasons. Several experts on a recent Ethnic Media Services panel said cities must look for ways to manage extreme heat waves that will last longer and pose more risk than ever before.

In Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, the state is launching a grant-based community resilience program to help counties and nonprofits across the state face this new reality, said program manager Braden Kay. read more

From Chico to the Bay Area, Americans discuss their country

"El Viajero" had a few straightforward questions
by ChicoSol staff | Posted September 11, 2023

As Chico’s Juan Flores speaks with random Americans in Northern California, he learns that from fast food to national parks and diversity, people love the country and worry about it. Video produced by Juan Flores.

How City sidelined the “quickest and simplest option” for unhoused people

Winslow: "the government owes safety and security to everyone"
by Addison Winslow | Posted September 3, 2023

photo by Karen Laslo
City staff cleared Depot Park Aug. 31, evicting people from what had become the last large encampment.

The Warren v Chico settlement forced Chico into a reckoning with homelessness; such a reckoning that city policy now has the effect of a boulder rolling down a hill. Not once since I was sworn into office last December has the City Council been asked for or given direction on homelessness.

Taking the settlement forced on us by a federal court as the entirety of our City’s policy to address homelessness puts Chico in a rut. Because the court decided that a shelter bed only qualifies as a token for eviction if it is indoors, we have sidelined the quickest and simplest option to improve conditions of people camping in public spaces: managed camping in an environmentally responsible location. The biggest absurdity of this is that, as part of the settlement agreement, we have sanctioned campgrounds (three of them, technically, though all at the same intersection), and regulation is just piecemeal or nonexistent. read more

Medi-Cal recipients must renew to keep coverage

Butte County lacks providers who will take Medi-Cal patients
by Natalie Hanson | Posted September 2, 2023
Michelle Baass, director of the state Department of Health Care Services, spoke to reporters about Medi-Cal changes.

The scramble is on to ensure that millions, if they still qualify, do not get disenrolled this year from their state medical insurance.

In California, one out of every three residents is insured by Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program for low-income adults and families. That means that one-third of all Californians, or more than 15 million, will have their eligibility redetermined, according to California officials. Almost 90,000 Butte County residents qualified for Medi-Cal as of June of this year.

California has been able to “completely eliminate assets as a Medi-Cal eligibility criteria,” the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) told ChicoSol today; that change takes “full effect” on Jan. 1, 2024. read more