We’ve Learned Nothing from History – Homeless Problems

by Jack Lee

It was August 16th, 1994 and the Chico Planning Commission had just passed a controversial plan to expand the Jesus Center (local homeless shelter) over the strong objections of business owners in the downtown.   A story in the Enterprise Record opened with, “A victory for the homeless of Chico may have been won Monday night, but some feel it may come at their expense.”  Time is the great arbiter of truth.  19 years later,  it’s abundantly clear… it did come at their expense.

Continuing with the 1994 story-  Despite a large audience that had gather to oppose the expansion, the Commission went forward with the request and granted permission for the Jesus Center to expand their laundry and shower facilities, and approved their plans to add a new building with more beds behind it’s existing structure.

Only one Commissioner, Gary Short, voted no. He said at the time, he was disappointed the other commissioners had not voted with him.  He felt the other commissioners bought into the emotional side and rejected the hard facts.  Opposing Short was Commissioners Kirk Monfort, Scott Gruendl, Celia McAdam and Brenda Crotts. Attorney Rick Keene (and then council candidate) was prepared to vote yes, but he had excuse himself because of a conflict of interest.  He had represented the Center in a legal matter.

Prior to the vote a large group of business owners had vehemently protested expanding the Center, saying any expansion would act like a magnet for the homeless, but what was worse was the location on Park Avenue.   They said it was too close to downtown and they felt the homeless would drift from the shelter into the downtown and cause problems. Their position was the shelter shouldn’t even be located there in the first place. Keene urged the Commissioners to approve the expansion and said, “We as a city have to take care of our people”.

Keene spoke as if we could somehow magically throw a bubble over the City and care only for the needy from Chico, but not attract homeless from outside the Chico area. Another Council candidate recognized the reality, but didn’t care. Then Candidate Stephen T. Davis said, “Of course it will attract transients, but argued…” that a neighborhood that didn’t want to feed and clean the poor was morally rotten to begin with.”

The business owners were adamant in their opposition!   ”My business is the toilet for Park Avenue!” quipped Barbara Easter who talked about the human filth she has to clean up almost daily.   Scott Mulholland, owner of a neighboring car lot said the increased accommodations would increase foot and vehicle traffic in an already overburdened area. Katy Thoma, the center’s director, responded to this by saying the poor didn’t drive cars. (According to the ER story this angered the opponents in the audience who yelled back at her)

Fast forward to April, 2013: The homeless population has grown exponentially and so have the associated problems. Calls for police, reports of filth, vandalism, drunks, stabbings, and widespread aggressive panhandling have all taken a heavy toll on the downtown economy and our public safety resources. This has worked out just as the original protesters said it would.

Here we are once again, with many people, but this time citizens, shoppers and business owners alike, all protesting the bums in the downtown. It seem history is repeating itself. Our council has resoted to special hearings in which the advocates for expanding tax funded facilities were given extensive time to present their case and protesters were denied the customary 3 minutes and limited to 1 minute in rebuttal time. The council is being schooled that they way to improve the homeless problem is to build more facilities. This is coming from people of the same mindset as those in 1994. Scott Gruendl, one of the original Commissioners that approved the expansion is now Councilman Gruendl, we wonder if he has learned from his past mistakes?

Since 1994 two more shelters have been established and it seems the more we build, the more that show up from outside the area to take advantage.

The new advocates for the homeless, and some of the old ones too, would now like to build another and much larger homeless shelter.  They also want the taxpayers to provide for permanent low income housing and adult day care centers, so the homeless wouldn’t gather in the downtown or chase customers away with their aggressive panhandling.  Obviously these outspoken people have learned nothing from our history, but I wonder if the voters of Chico have?