Homeless Plan Gets Mixed Reviews
By Corey Lyons
Contra Costa Newspapers
2002
PLEASANT HILL Don Van Acker is livid over plans to transform the nearby Garden Park Apartments into a facility providing permanent shelter for the homeless.
The housing project is too close to Fair Oaks Elementary School, he said, a move that invites "danger to the doorstep."
But Julie Hunn, a young mother, envisions something entirely different, a stable community shelter for folks trying to straighten out their lives.
Van Acker and Hunn stand at opposite sides of a simmering conflict among residents in Fair Oaks, a mostly conservative, working-class area near the Monument Boulevard corridor.
County officials this month secured a building in the neighborhood to assist the homeless, a 27-unit complex with an on-site manager's office.
The facility, at 2387 Lisa Lane, will be the largest of its kind in the county specifically catering to homeless families. It's expected to debut in the next few months.
The proposed $3 million center is a joint project involving the county, Mercy Housing and the Contra Costa Interfaith Transitional Housing Inc., a coalition of 25 congregations.
Interfaith, in Martinez, owns the property and Mercy, a nonprofit group, will manage the grounds.
"A project like this tends to stabilize the community because we will have 24-hour staff and a residential manager," said Linda Wohlrabe, executive director of Interfaith.
With a swelling county homeless population of about 15,000, the large site promises to provide a permanent roof and critical social services to needy families.
Project officials bought the site after Richmond residents fought off plans there for a 32-bed affordable housing center for homeless families.
In doing so, it kept Contra Costa's Homeless Program from giving up a $500,000 grant for failing to find a suitable place by Dec. 11.
But some Pleasant Hill residents are up in arms over the center. They say it's too close to the school, may drive down property values and could allow transients to wander their neighborhood without supervision.
"It amazes me how a community fails to protect its most innocent, children and seniors," said Van Acker, a safety engineer who lives on Fair Oaks Drive.
A few doors down, Derek Clements, 30, cringed at the thought of plunging property values in an area already beset by a lingerie store whose adult merchandise once drew protests.
"It's just part of a consistent stream of bad luck around here," said Clements, a driver for an Antioch soil company.
Other neighbors dismiss those concerns as overblown, saying assisting the homeless is an effort that requires widespread support.
"These are people who are getting on their feet, people who have already come a certain distance," said Hunn, who lives in the 32-unit Pleasant Hill Cohousing complex at 2200 Lisa Lane.
"I'd be more concerned about someone currently homeless and the system not helping them," she added.
The project requires no approvals from Pleasant Hill. Months ago, city officials declined a request for financial assistance to help the program, citing concerns about the project's long-term stability.
In addition, the city had already established its budget and did not want to scrap existing programs, said Bob Stewart, the city redevelopment administrator.
Contra Costa Newspapers
2002
PLEASANT HILL Don Van Acker is livid over plans to transform the nearby Garden Park Apartments into a facility providing permanent shelter for the homeless.
The housing project is too close to Fair Oaks Elementary School, he said, a move that invites "danger to the doorstep."
But Julie Hunn, a young mother, envisions something entirely different, a stable community shelter for folks trying to straighten out their lives.
Van Acker and Hunn stand at opposite sides of a simmering conflict among residents in Fair Oaks, a mostly conservative, working-class area near the Monument Boulevard corridor.
County officials this month secured a building in the neighborhood to assist the homeless, a 27-unit complex with an on-site manager's office.
The facility, at 2387 Lisa Lane, will be the largest of its kind in the county specifically catering to homeless families. It's expected to debut in the next few months.
The proposed $3 million center is a joint project involving the county, Mercy Housing and the Contra Costa Interfaith Transitional Housing Inc., a coalition of 25 congregations.
Interfaith, in Martinez, owns the property and Mercy, a nonprofit group, will manage the grounds.
"A project like this tends to stabilize the community because we will have 24-hour staff and a residential manager," said Linda Wohlrabe, executive director of Interfaith.
With a swelling county homeless population of about 15,000, the large site promises to provide a permanent roof and critical social services to needy families.
Project officials bought the site after Richmond residents fought off plans there for a 32-bed affordable housing center for homeless families.
In doing so, it kept Contra Costa's Homeless Program from giving up a $500,000 grant for failing to find a suitable place by Dec. 11.
But some Pleasant Hill residents are up in arms over the center. They say it's too close to the school, may drive down property values and could allow transients to wander their neighborhood without supervision.
"It amazes me how a community fails to protect its most innocent, children and seniors," said Van Acker, a safety engineer who lives on Fair Oaks Drive.
A few doors down, Derek Clements, 30, cringed at the thought of plunging property values in an area already beset by a lingerie store whose adult merchandise once drew protests.
"It's just part of a consistent stream of bad luck around here," said Clements, a driver for an Antioch soil company.
Other neighbors dismiss those concerns as overblown, saying assisting the homeless is an effort that requires widespread support.
"These are people who are getting on their feet, people who have already come a certain distance," said Hunn, who lives in the 32-unit Pleasant Hill Cohousing complex at 2200 Lisa Lane.
"I'd be more concerned about someone currently homeless and the system not helping them," she added.
The project requires no approvals from Pleasant Hill. Months ago, city officials declined a request for financial assistance to help the program, citing concerns about the project's long-term stability.
In addition, the city had already established its budget and did not want to scrap existing programs, said Bob Stewart, the city redevelopment administrator.
posted by Corey at 7:52 PM
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