homeless Archives - Page 2 of 6

Chico moves to dissolve lawsuit settlement Winslow: The pallet shelters are "hostage" in the homeless case

by Leslie Layton & Natalie Hanson
posted July 17

The City of Chico announced today that it plans to dissolve the lawsuit settlement that for the past 18 months has restricted its ability to conduct eviction sweeps at homeless encampments. It says it will return to court.

The January 2022 Settlement Agreement produced by the Warren v. Chico lawsuit requires the City show it has shelter beds available before evicting unhoused people from public property. If the City prevails in a new round of litigation, it will once again be able to enforce anti-camping ordinances and conduct eviction sweeps freely. read more

Social workers on the frontline of Medi-Cal campaign Work underway to get expanded services to low-income and homeless people

by Natalie Hanson
posted July 1

Daniel Reinhard, a Butte County social worker, regularly visits unhoused people at Genesis, a pallet shelter village in Chico.

Each week, he talks to people who are either renewing their Medi-Cal, California’s version of Medicaid, or need help accessing expanded Medi-Cal services. In January 2024, Medi-Cal, which already served one-third of all Californians, expanded services to all state residents who qualify regardless of immigration status, as well as to people already enrolled. read more

Divided Supreme Court ruling delivers victory to Grants Pass ‘Either stay awake or be arrested’

photo by Karen Laslo

The City-sanctioned campground in north Chico that was opened to meet a court requirement.

by Natalie Hanson
posted June 28

The country’s highest court dropped a landmark decision on the question of civil rights for America’s unhoused people today.

In a decision that many attorneys and activists had predicted, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that cities enforcing anti-camping laws are not committing cruel and unusual punishment during evictions of unhoused people. It remanded the City of Grants Pass v. Johnson case back to the lower courts with a ruling that could affect policy in cities like Chico. read more

North State Shelter Team hits landmark 2000th shower At City's Alternate Site for the homeless, volunteers provide relief

photo by Karen Laslo

Alternate Site residents Robert and Brenda Sallee.

photo essay by Karen Laslo
posted May 25

Every Friday, the North State Shelter Team (NSST) hauls its shower trailer out to the homeless camp on the corner of Eaton and Cohasset roads.

Along with a team of caring volunteers, NSST founder Charles Withuhn attempts to relieve some of the misery of living unhoused by offering hot showers. Withuhn built the shower trailer two years ago. On this Friday (May 24) the team was celebrating the marker of providing some 2,000 showers with cupcakes and coffee for the residents. read more

Chico PD holds its first town hall Homelessness, de-escalation and diversity discussed

photo by Leslie Layton

Chief Billy Aldridge at Chico PD’s first town hall.

by Leslie Layton
posted May 2

In the first of two town halls to be held this year, Chico police addressed topics that emerged from the recent Community Survey as concerns, including homelessness and the department’s use of de-escalation techniques.

The May 1 town hall followed the recent release of results from the department’s Community Survey that received 797 responses from Chico-area residents. Most of the respondents were over 50 years old and a disproportionate number white. Almost 60 percent said the unhoused community was a major concern. read more

Pallet shelters offer refuge, future Evictions are ongoing as City faces persistent homelessness

photo by Karen Laslo

Pallet shelters now comprise “Genesis.”

by Leslie Layton
posted Nov. 9

Part II of a two-part series. Read part I on surviving extreme conditions here.

Beyond the gate that secures southeast Chico’s “Genesis,” the little grey sleeping cabins are in orderly lines. There are suggestions that this is home, for the moment, to occupants who have planted a cactus garden, or leaned a bicycle against their pallet shelter, or left a walker by the door.

The 177 pallet shelters – the village named Genesis — provide autonomy and greater security than the occupants, who were previously unsheltered, probably had before they moved in. They’re a key piece in what success the City has had in responding to homelessness, a product of the 2022 settlement in the Warren v. Chico lawsuit. read more