Guest Opinion | Sonja Berndt: Will Our City Make Sure that Our Unsheltered Residents Are Sheltered from the Cold and Rain this Winter

Pasadena residents were shocked to learn recently that, for the first time in decades, due to COVID-19-related issues, Pasadena will not have a Bad Weather Shelter this year for our unsheltered residents. This issue and proposed alternatives were discussed at the City Council’s December 14, 2020 meeting.  During the meeting, over 50 comments from concerned residents were read out loud urging the Council take immediate action to protect our unsheltered neighbors from bitter cold and rain this winter.

According to our City’s Housing Department’s report “a large majority of the population served by the Bad Weather Shelter is highly vulnerable to serious illness and death from COVID-19 due to age and the presence of chronic health conditions.”  Moreover, the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) reports that people experiencing homelessness have a much higher risk than the general population of developing exposure-related conditions such as frostbite and hypothermia.  These conditions can be immediately life threatening or can have long-term effects.  (NCH, Bringing Our Neighbors in from the Cold, September 2010.)  

To address our City’s dire situation, the Housing Department announced its plan to fund motel vouchers (with transportation) for those who need shelter this winter.  Director Bill Huang advised the Council that in January or February, the Department will come back to the Council for authorization to expend additional funds calculated using the number of persons who utilized the Bad Weather Shelter last year plus more funds depending on weather.  Housing Department staff reported that the Bad Weather Shelter normally has approximately 140 beds.  Director Huang stated that there are currently at least 300 Pasadena residents without shelter, and likely more, because the capacity at our existing shelters was decreased in order to comply with COVID-19 requirements.  

Significantly, Councilmember Hampton asked a direct question:  “Are you saying that we have enough motel rooms for everyone who wants to be able to be off the streets?” Director Huang responded “Yes. When we come back in January we believe we’ll be able to bring forward to City Council a request to provide sufficient funding for the Bad Weather Shelter demand for this season in motels.”  (Videorecording at 3:49.)   

City Manager Steve Mermell later told the Council that the motel voucher program will cover anybody who needs to be off the street “who would otherwise normally be in the bad weather shelter.”  (Videorecording at 3:51.)  But the number of persons who would “otherwise normally” be in the Bad Weather Shelter in this pandemic year is unknowable and not relevant.  What is relevant is the number of persons needing shelter this year who need a motel voucher to escape the freezing cold and rain.      

Housing Department staff advised the Council that “Funding is not the constraint here. . . .  We have the funding to support it [a non-congregate shelter].”  (Videorecording at 4:06.)  Gratefully, funding throughout this year of COVID-19, to aid various sectors of our City, has not been a problem.  Our Council approved large expenditures out of the City’s general fund and/or general fund reserve for meal insecurity programs for seniors and others, a small business disaster relief fund, and an alternate healthcare facility at the Convention Center.  Last April, the Council even approved a $420,000 general-fund expenditure, without competitive bidding, for a helicopter camera surveillance system to replace a system that was still functional.  (Mayor Gordo and Councilmember Hampton voted no; Councilmember Williams was not on the Council at that time.)

Many concerned residents have requested the City Council to authorize sufficient funding to shelter all of our unsheltered residents who need to be protected from bitter cold and rain this winter.  Numerous residents gave the Council additional suggestions such as sheltering in the FEMA trailers the city received from the State or other city-owned properties, allowing shelter in tents, and suspending ordinances that prohibit sleeping in vehicles overnight and sleeping overnight on city-owned property.  The Council did not give serious consideration to any of these options, perhaps because they believed there would be enough money to cover the demand for shelter this winter with motel vouchers.

To ensure that our unsheltered residents receive the shelter they need this winter, concerned residents can email City Manager Mermell at smermell@cityofpasadena.net, your Councilmember (if known) and Mayor Gordo at vgordo@cityofpasadena.net and request that the Council approve all funding needed to meet the demand for sheltering our residents this winter.  Further, residents can urge the City to provide places for unsheltered residents to report to, or call, in order to request and obtain a motel voucher to ensure that the demand is met.  Additionally, you can urge the City to take immediate action to provide vouchers given that the City’s partner in the voucher program this year, Friends In Deed, will not start its participation until January 4, 2021.  Our nightly temperatures are forecasted to be in the 40’s starting this week.

Finally, concerned residents can submit comments at the January Council meeting when the Housing Department will request authorization to expend funds for the motel voucher program.  You can check Council agendas posted on Thursday evenings before Monday Council meetings at http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/councilagendas/council_agenda.asp to find out when the issue will be on the agenda.  Additionally, you can follow Pasadena For All on Instagram @pasadenaforall for more information next month on how you can voice your support for sheltering our residents this winter.