AI #12: Do not assume SVdP financial risk,
further blight and staff time!
I am deeply concerned that despite our dire fiscal
emergency, council is now flirting with reopening the
previously settled decision not to pursue Jack Tibbetts/ SVdP’s attempt to obtain state and county funding via our city council for a housing project.
Our new city manager uncovered that this project would
involve (previously undeclared by SVdP) significant
financial risk for the city, so sensibly the decision was made by council not to proceed given the huge financial responsibility risk involved.
Despite Tibbett’s emotional claims during that council
meeting that he ‘would probably be fired’ for not scoring funding via the city of Sebastopol, he appears to still be employed, and agitating to have another attempt at
obtaining funding by bullying our city with legal threats.
SVdP has an extremely poor record in Sonoma County
around making wild claims around what they will execute with housing project funding. Journalist Andrew Graham
of the Press Democrat has run multiple well researched
exposes of the SVdP Gold Coin Motel project, and more
recently the yet to open, much delayed SVdP Commons.
The California Globe has also documented the strange
political and commercial journey Tibbetts has been on,
largely funded by well meaning donors.
We are fortunate to have a city manager who is well
versed in the political management realities of Sonoma
County coordinated entry and homeless outreach policies and bureaucracies, but unfortunate in having legacy
council members who incredibly continue to naively
blunder into romantic visions of ‘saving’ local people who have ‘found themselves unhoused’.
This despite multiple expensive fails with
⁃ the former Sebastopol Inn at Gravenstein Station,
which is currently neither a sales and hotel tax generating hotel for the city or ‘supportive housing’, is now the
subject of serious fraud investigations into DEMA/Patino and wife, which has soaked up huge amounts of tax payer funds to briefly ‘house’ a trivial number of ‘homeless
people at risk from Covid’ and is now awaiting a very
expensive remodel to install kitchens into former motel rooms.
⁃ SAVS chaotic attempts to manage the SVdP owned
land their ‘safe parking’ ‘village’ was temporarily
established on. The city’s generosity was rewarded with a very expensive ongoing lawsuit demanding the rights for anyone to camp on city streets, with cynical and well
funded politically motivated legal ‘advocates’ using SAVs Rise ’n’ Shine residents as plaintiffs to bully the city.
Citizens have no visibility into this secretive legal black hole, but I’m sure it is both expensive and making
draconian demands on the city.
Both of these projects have consumed huge amounts of
city staff time, plus of course our essentially volunteer council’s time and focus.
Citizens have little say in any of these projects but we all see the resulting failures. Patino will be in court, SAVs failed in its remit to find services and housing for
Rise’n’Shine safe parkers.
We have an extensive ‘Sonoma County Homeless
Coalition’ bureaucracy and hierarchy taxpayers fund.
They are constrained by 9th circuit Boise vs Martin case law that offered services can be refused by transients, but who are geared up to serve the city of Sebastopol as well a the rest of the county.
Former CoS councillor Una Glass is representing our city and ‘the western region’ on the Continuum of Care but we have no idea what she is advocating for our city. I think we should be told if there is an undisclosed agenda.
Despite overarching state and county organizations,
gullible city councillors persist in attempting to create unique new ‘homeless’ projects within city limits, which all too often start out as vanity projects and end in
disasters. The era of state grants and funding raining
down on counties to experiment with homeless/mental
illness/addiction ‘solutions’ and we are looking at a very constrained state budget for the next few years.
Compassion without competence equals chaos. This
could literally result in a fiscal extinction event for our city at this point in our history. This would not be a
happy legacy for outgoing councillors.
We all want to see (still well funded) triaged services being accepted by people living on the streets. The supreme
court decision over Grants Pass vs Johnson, which
challenges Boise vs Martin is supposed to be made during June and which may have a profound effect on the extent to which we can help those in need.
Currently downtown and highway adjacent residents of
CoS are all ‘experiencing homelessness’ nuisances by
campers and panhandlers, including the area around city hall. This cannot be allowed to continue if we are to attract tourist dollars during the summer vacation season.
I urge council not to cave in to the financial bullying tactics of SVdP and their allies over their patch of land and to carefully read the HomeFirst coordinated entry
document attached. (The county outsource coordinated
entry services to HomeFirst, who work with our West
County Community Services non profit, for whom city
taxpayers fund Tomogachi Park/Park Village mortgage
payments).
Oliver Marks
Downtown Sebastopol
Are you currently
homeless and looking
for housing solutions?
The Sonoma County Coordinated Entry System, operated by HomeFirst, matches people experiencing homelessness who are most in need of assistance to available supportive housing programs.
You can access the system at any of the points below. Just ask for a Coordinated Entry Assessment.
You can access the system through any provider below:
Caritas Drop In Center
301 6th Street (Corner of Morgan & 6th), Santa Rosa
Tues-Wed 1P-4PM, or call for appointment: 707-978-8329
[email protected]
TLC Children and Family Services
(Transition Aged Youth 18-24 or Transition Aged Youth
with children)
821 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Drop In Thursdays 1-3PM
Or call for an appointment: 707-480-9541
Face 2 Face (HIV services)
873 2nd Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Call for an appointment: 707-544-1581
Nation's Finest (Veterans)
444 10th Street, suite 102, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Monday-Friday | 8:00 AM-5:00 PM
or call for an appointment: 1-833-468-9676
Interfaith Shelter Network
Call for an appointment: 707-546-7907, ext. 101
Positive Images
200 Montgomery Drive Suite C, Santa Rosa CA
Call for an appointment: 707-568-5830
Tuesday - Friday | 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Homeless Outreach Team, Victim's Services
(For victims of crime)
Call for an appointment: 707-565-8260
Russian River Health Center
16312 3rd St., Guerneville, CA 95446
Call for an appointment: 707-824-3398
West County Community Services Sebastopol Outreach
(Sebastopol community only)
Call for an appointment: 707-888-3804
Reach for Home
443 Hudson Street, Healdsburg CA 95448
Call for an appointment: 707-433-6161
[email protected]
Corazon Healdsburg
16003 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg
Mon-Fri 10AM-5PM (By appointment only)
Or call for an appointment: 707-615-4567
Downtown Streets Team
(Serving People of South County)
Call for an appointment: 707-806-9066
COTS Mary Isaak Center
900 Hopper Street, Petaluma, CA 94952
Call for an appointment: 707-765-6530 ext. 207
HomeFirst Petaluma Outreach Team
(South County community only)
Call for an appointment: 707-277-1407
Homeless Action Sonoma, Inc
Call for an appointment: 707-991-0455
[email protected]
Rohnert Park HOST (Rohnert Park community only)
Call for an appointment: 707-978-8329
[email protected]
866.542.5480 [email protected] Having problems getting an assessment? Contact HomeFirst today!
Sonoma County Coordinated Entry System
Access Points
Assessment
By-Name-List Housing Referrals
Prioritized by Need
Participant FAQs about the Sonoma County Coordinated Entry System
1. What is a Coordinated Entry System (CES)?
Coordinated Entry matches people experiencing homelessness toavailable housing programs. It prioritizes those who are most in needof assistance.Referrals are made only to permanent housing, not shelters.
2. What is a CES Assessment?
Used to determine eligibility for referrals to homeless permanenthousing services.Places you on a centralized By-Names-List so you don’t have to applyprogram by program.Includes to the Vulnerability Index Survey (VI-SPDAT), a standardassessment tool used to measure a person’s vulnerability andhousing needs.Matches you with housing services that meet your needs when theyare available, although an assessment does not guarantee a referral.
3. What is the Sonoma County Coordinated Entry System By-Name-List? The By-Name-List is a list of individuals, families, and transitional ageyouth who are experiencing homelessness prioritized byvulnerability.The By-Name-List is a dynamic waiting list and does not guaranteereferrals to any particular service or program.The most vulnerable, eligible, and most in need will be connected toavailable housing programs first.If you do not accept the housing referral offered to you, you willmaintain your placement on the By-Name-List and will be offeredthe next eligible referral.The By-Name-List is stored in the Homeless ManagementInformation System, which is not accessible to the public.
4. I’ve completed the CES Assessment. What should I do now? Keep your contact and location information up to date with an AccessPointStay in contact with a CES Access Point, shelter, or outreach teamevery 90 days to maintain your active status on the By-Name-List andeligibility for housing referrals.Update your CES Assessment annually or when a major life eventoccurs.Continue to pursue other housing options, services, and benefits.Many people who are on the list will NOT be offered a housingopportunity or will wait a very long time for a referral. This iscurrently due to the lack of housing opportunities.
5. What are my rights as a participant in Sonoma County CES? The CES, Access Points and Cooperating Agencies must comply withthe nondiscrimination provisions of federal civil rights laws, which bardiscrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex,actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, disability,familial status, marital status, citizenship (or lack thereof). Depending on eligibility, cooperating agencies may refer a participantto a more appropriate agency. You have the option for your information to be stored on the ByNames-List anonymously, and it can be removed at any time.You can register for the Coordinated Entry System regardless of yourlegal status. Access points and Cooperating Agencies have assistancein Spanish.
6. How do I submit a complaint or grievance?
Please contact the Coordinated Entry Operator HomeFirst at:[email protected] or 866-542-5480. HomeFirst does not have asay in housing decisions.