To: Santa Cruz City Council
Common Ground: Homeless Depot Shelter
IT IS PROPOSED THAT:
The Santa Cruz City Council shall direct senior administrative staff to identify places within the City of Santa Cruz where homeless people can legally sleep between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Potential sites might include public buildings, parking lots, or appropriate acreage among more than 117 acres of land in Santa Cruz parks.
Representatives of the Santa Cruz homeless community shall participate with housing activists and the Santa Cruz City Council (or its representatives) in a group called the Organizing Committee (OC) to develop the Homeless Depot Shelter Program, ensuring the shelter meets the requirements and achieves the milestones specified below.
By meeting these requirements and achieving these milestones, the Homeless Depot Shelter should accommodate all reasonable interests and concerns expressed by the broader Santa Cruz community:
IT IS FURTHER PROPOSED that the City of Santa Cruz shall contribute to the funding of the Homeless Depot Shelter or support it in-kind by providing portable shelter, bathrooms, and showers that can accommodate up to 1,500 people.
IT IS PROPOSED THAT social workers will be on site and available on a regular schedule who must be qualified and able to (a) assist shelter participants in improving their economic, health, or housing situations and (b) interview and evaluate shelter participants interested in permanent supportive housing.
IT IS FURTHER PROPOSED THAT security personnel be on site 24 hours per day, seven days per week, including representatives elected by the Homeless Depot Shelter community.
A more detailed description of the Proposal is available by contacting Rabbi Phil Posner at [email protected].
The Santa Cruz City Council shall direct senior administrative staff to identify places within the City of Santa Cruz where homeless people can legally sleep between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Potential sites might include public buildings, parking lots, or appropriate acreage among more than 117 acres of land in Santa Cruz parks.
Representatives of the Santa Cruz homeless community shall participate with housing activists and the Santa Cruz City Council (or its representatives) in a group called the Organizing Committee (OC) to develop the Homeless Depot Shelter Program, ensuring the shelter meets the requirements and achieves the milestones specified below.
By meeting these requirements and achieving these milestones, the Homeless Depot Shelter should accommodate all reasonable interests and concerns expressed by the broader Santa Cruz community:
IT IS FURTHER PROPOSED that the City of Santa Cruz shall contribute to the funding of the Homeless Depot Shelter or support it in-kind by providing portable shelter, bathrooms, and showers that can accommodate up to 1,500 people.
IT IS PROPOSED THAT social workers will be on site and available on a regular schedule who must be qualified and able to (a) assist shelter participants in improving their economic, health, or housing situations and (b) interview and evaluate shelter participants interested in permanent supportive housing.
IT IS FURTHER PROPOSED THAT security personnel be on site 24 hours per day, seven days per week, including representatives elected by the Homeless Depot Shelter community.
A more detailed description of the Proposal is available by contacting Rabbi Phil Posner at [email protected].
Why is this important?
This is a personal appeal to the conscience of our community to put yourselves in the place of the thousands of men, women, even children in our community who every night go to sleep, unlike you or me, without a place to call their own, and therefore are forced to break the law in order to sleep.