Paso Robles gets shelter for unhoused during storm. ‘We have ignored things for too long’
As the “atmospheric river” storm pummeled San Luis Obispo County on the evening of Jan. 9, several unhoused people took shelter at Paso Robles Church of the Nazarene.
For the first time this rain season, Paso’s homeless residents had a warming center to turn to when the winter’s worst weather hit the area, after a collection of nonprofits joined with the county to create a temporary, rotating shelter program in the North County.
Aurora William, a homeless advocate, president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in SLO and organizer with LAGS Recovery Centers and Hope & Faith Street Outreach in Paso Robles, said here have been warming centers in North County before, but this year, with no one stepping up, the work fell to her and several nonprofits.
The program operates “under the umbrella” of the Kayla Peach Memorial Foundation, which provides addiction and substance abuse prevention educational programs to communities, schools, youth and parents in the city of San Luis Obispo. The collaboration includes Hope & Faith Street Outreach, Paso Cares and LAGS Recovery Centers in Santa Maria, along with funding from the county.
Toby Hurl, 41, an unhoused individual living in Paso Robles, was “urban camping” near the Walmart in Paso Robles during the first days of the storm and later took shelter at the program’s Paso Robles Event Center location.
“I think that’s an excellent service that they do, because most places that have housing or whatever, you’ve got to come to (them),” Hurl said. “Them reaching out (to homeless clients) is a huge benefit because they’re going out of their way to help people.”
At Paso Naz as its commonly known, the unofficially named Paso Robles Warming Center Collaborative offered its first night of homeless care under William’s direction.
“‘I’m a little bit of a hat rack,” William said. “I wear three titles, and I feel like it’s the three titles that have kind of helped pull all of this together.”
William said the warming shelter will operate through April 15 — the conclusion of the rainy season — opening its doors only on rainy nights. Organizers are working to expand the program to cold nights as well, William said.
“Some of the people on the streets are medically fragile,” William said. “Sleeping in freezing weather is not helpful to arthritis, swollen joints, depression, or the ability to feel cared for. We are doing our best to meet this need.”
Rotating shelter gains county’s blessing, funding
After the county learned of the nonprofits’ initial efforts during the first two nights at Paso Naz, William said, the groups reached out to establish a more formal relationship, with the goal of creating a rotating system of overnight shelters at local churches and public spaces.
“We had some conversations with the county, and the county said, ‘If we can secure the site at the fairgrounds, can you staff it?’ and we said we can,” William said. “I reached out to Paso Cares, and they said, ‘We are right behind you. We’re all in this together.’”
That staff is made up of volunteers from local churches and the various nonprofits, but more help is needed, William said.
The volunteers open the warming center for dinner at 6 p.m. and close again at 8 a.m., providing clean bedding, clothes and a safe and warm place to sleep, William said.
As the location changes often, the shelter’s capacity changes, too, Williams said, reaching a maximum number of 27.
“We ask people what they need and help with resources or rides as well,” William said.
Because the shelter program does not have a consistent location and must look day-to-day for local churches and community spaces to use overnight, much of its scheduling is done through word of mouth and social media pages for Paso Cares and Hope & Faith Community Outreach.
The county’s end of the bargain is a commitment to pay 50% of the shelter’s operating costs, on a budget of $19,890 for the duration of the program through April 15.
The shelter location will change periodically as needed, William said, depending on the availability of the space. The first two nights on Jan. 9 and 10 were spent at Paso Naz, Jan. 11 through Jan. 18 were located at the Event Center, and starting Jan. 19, the program will stay at Highlands Church.
Though the program has been a success so far — housing the full 27 people at its peak — William said it has “zero potential” of becoming a permanent North County institution.
“Historically, there have been groups who have stepped up to provide warming centers during the winter months,” William said. “This year no one did it. I believe there was the expectation that the homeless shelter would provide a place for people during the rain. That did not come to fruition.”
A North County day center, William said, would help establish more stability and means of recovery for unhoused people, which would in turn lead to fewer overnight clients.
“What would make financial and logical sense would be to put a Day Center in North County,” William said. “I believe we would have fewer people on the streets if there were a place people could go for the help they needed without having to catch a bus from one end of town to another. We need a Day Center and a treatment center for mental health and substance use disorders, desperately.”
Homeless clients praise shelter from storm
Hurl, who has met some of the organizers behind the warming center program, said they have been welcoming with the clients.
Hurl said he appreciated the familiarity of the organizers, and the flexibility of choice they offered.
“They go around and they find people that are homeless and ask them if they need shelter,” Hull said. “Those that choose to be here, choose to be here. Those that choose not to be, well, that’s their choice, right?”
Another client, Walter Rouse, has spent the past 10 years living in riverbeds across the North County but left for the shelter during the storm.
“Oh my gosh, (this is the) best shelter ever in the world,” Rouse said. “People love it here — it’s awesome. I know we pray every morning that (the shelter has) got room going on, because it’s like 29 degrees outside.”
Edward Morrell, who is unhoused, said he was “surprised” that a warming center was opened, as overnight stays at the former Motel 6 in Paso Robles — which was converted into a shelter — have been hard to come by during the storm.
“A lot of (unhoused) people out there are sick or they’re immobile,” the 66-year-old Morrell said. “You’ve got to help them out, but this place here is great, and the people that put it together, fantastic.”
Though volunteers have been kind and understanding when working with the clients, William said outside criticism of the homeless population during a time of emergency can be harmful.
“Imagine what it is like to try to get help when you feel hopeless and that no one cares,” William said. “These people have social media. They read what people in this community write about homeless people on FB. The nasty remarks are painful for them to read.“
William said the unhoused clients who have taken shelter at the warming center have expressed gratitude for the aid, but said an “investment of of time” will be needed to remedy the long-term problems.
“To see the difference a good dinner, a warm place to sleep and no all-night shenanigans can make is astounding. People want a quick fix to our community’s homeless issues,” William said. “We have ignored things for too long.”
This story was originally published January 19, 2023 at 1:22 PM.
