15 Jan With No Warming Center, Antioch Looks to Open Local Motel to Homeless People on Cold Nights

(Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

The city of Antioch is moving the possibility of bringing a warming center to the region to the back burner as it puts all its efforts into attempting to house a chunk of its homeless population on near-freezing nights in a local motel.

Council members gave staff the go-ahead to further flesh out the details of potentially housing residents at the now-closed Comfort Inn, using funding from the Emergency Voucher Program and possibly other buckets.

The move was prompted by concerns that the city has no warming center or emergency shelter for homeless residents, requiring them often to travel to Richmond or further.

“We all know mistakes will be made because we’re trying to do this as quickly as we possibly can, but from a humanitarian perspective, this is the right way to go,” said Mayor Pro Tem Don Freitas.

The hotel has 119 rooms available — and another community area with a capacity of up to 45 people — offered at $45 per night, Andrew Becker, a representative for the hotel, said.

The process won’t be easy. The city has the largest population of homeless residents in the county at 246, which is still considered an undercount, and it would have to provide case management and take responsibility for any damages.

City Manager Bessie Marie Scott said that the city’s Coordinated Outreach and Referral Engagement, or CORE, and Angelo Quinto Community Response teams could be asked to supplement current services to provide support for the project. That would mean a drop in services elsewhere or increased costs to a city already facing a deficit.

And current funding through the voucher program is only enough for “a few nights” of shelter without dipping into other funding sources, said Scott. There is approximately $5,000 to $6,000 in voucher funding.

The site is the potential location of a HomeKey+ facility for permanent supportive housing that council members first applied for last year. Becker, who said he was also authorized to speak on behalf of the developer of that project, suggested providing shelter on the site until the award of the funding. HomeKey+ funding is not guaranteed.

“So you, in essence, are saying we can actually provide you space for housing now instead of waiting until this thing opens up in occupancy,” said Becker.

That path would include additional support from the county for clinical support and additional funding from the city through programs like the Community Development Block Grant, he said.

Doing so would be a “full-time operation” and have a monthly price tag of more than $160,000 using a $400,000 allocation through the end of June, said Scott.

“Do the math and hope you get HomeKey+,” she told council members.

Thinking long-term: Council members say county and faith groups need to ‘step up’

The project is only an immediate potential option for homeless residents and doesn’t fill the void of not having a warming center or shelter in the city.

That’s a problem the county needs to help solve, council members and advocates said.

“The Board of Supervisors, they’re the ones that have the resources that can make those funds immediately available. It may be that we take a couple of buses to Martinez … and have a discussion. I’m not afraid of political pressure,” said Freitas. “It’s time to ask them to step up as well.”

Fretias pointed to specific funding sources, like the Keller Canyon Mitigation Fund, which provides grants of up to $10,000 in Pittsburg and Antioch, and the $1 million in Community Impact Funds from Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston and BOS Chair Diane Burgis, who represent parts of the city.

The Keller Canyon fund requires most of its funding to go towards its target area in Pittsburg, and East County supervisors have said that their current applications already surpass the funding amount, though Burgis is holding off on most spending due to uncertainties under the Trump administration.

Melissa Case and Nichole Gardner said they wanted to see more advocacy on the issue from the city and the public to the county.

“You all need to be letting them know that we need those funds in our city. They know that we are struggling,” said Gardner.

Former interim Police Chief William “Brian” Addington, now acting as a consultant for the city, said that the county has “no plans” to open a warming center in East County.

The city can also partner with faith groups to offset the costs of a warming center.

Only one church has expressed interest in doing so, a report from Scott shows.

Council members agreed to later pursue potential partnerships with the county and faith groups that could lead to a warming center in the city.