Grover Beach did right thing in declaring homeless shelter crisis

It may have been symbolic, but we believe the Grover Beach City Council did the right thing in declaring a shelter crisis Monday, even though its staff recommended against it. We’re impressed, too, that the council did not include a sunset clause in its declaration, as other agencies have done.

It’s obvious Grover Beach has a shelter crisis on its hands. In late January, Grover police cleared out a large homeless encampment near the Amtrak station. Some of those ousted from the camp moved to a state campground in Pismo Beach, but that’s only a temporary solution.

More permanent emergency housing is scarce. South County has no homeless shelter; the nearest ones are in Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo.

There is a nighttime warming center at the county Department of Social Services building in Arroyo Grande that opens on rainy nights. Transportation to the shelter is available from Grover Beach, but the shelter has limited capacity, and it’s not available for use during business hours, even when weather conditions may warrant keeping it open during weekdays.

The Grover Beach council asked its staff to research whether any city buildings might be available. That makes sense, especially if they also can be used as day shelters during period of rain and cold weather. (We’ve raised the question before, but we’re going to ask again: Any possibility of using the vacant Grover Beach courthouse?)

We offer the Grover Beach City Council an on-the-right-track bouquet for acknowledging that there is more work to be done in providing emergency shelter, and the job won’t end when the rainy season is over.

This story was originally published March 11, 2016 at 9:42 AM with the headline "Grover Beach did right thing in declaring homeless shelter crisis."