County and Cities Move Toward United Effort On Homelessness

Both the Shasta County Board of Supervisors and the Redding City Council have approved a different approach to homelessness. The At Home plan was devised by the California Association of Counties. It’s centered around an ad hoc committee that has no real power but is made up of local government representatives who can take ideas back to their own government entities. The first action, approved by Redding’s City Council Tuesday night, would be a partnership with the Good News Rescue Mission to develop a Day Resource Center. A state grant to the city already includes $3 million earmarked for the facility, and $720,000 set aside for a director and case management services for the first three years of operation. The likely site will be a property with an 8,000 square foot building a little south of the Good News Rescue Mission off South Market Street. Services would include meals, showers and laundry facilities. The Mission would operate it under a different brand separate from existing mission operations and would not include religious services because of the taxpayer dollars involved.