CHICO — Children running down the halls; the smell of cooking in the air and fire alarms going off to complement.
That’s music to the ears of Amber Abney-Bass, director of The Jesus Center — which this week is finishing moving its first families into its brand new Renewal Center emergency shelter for seniors and families.
The Jesus Center’s new facility adds 100 beds to the nonprofit’s existing 54 beds located right across the street from its main office.
Ten families including 24 kids under the age of 18 moved into the shelter since Sept. 13, reported Abney-Bass. Four more families are expected to move in by Friday, and the shelter will open its beds for older adults and other individuals
“This week has been really fun to see those kids in that play space in there playing with blocks; playing with the play kitchen — just being kids,” Abney-Bass said.
Abney-Bass said The Renewal Center is the first non-congregate designed shelter in Butte County and part of its programming is based on addressing adverse childhood experiences in homeless families.
She said research during its design phase guided the nonprofit to manage shelter in a non-congregate setting — meaning each family gets its own unit as opposed to sharing a large space with many people.
“We began to learn about ACEs clear back in 2018. … for so long the goal has just been to get kids and families into shelter and out of the elements,” Abney-Bass said in reference to the old Jesus Center location on Park Avenue. “Children had a place to be and that they had a place to get food … but it’s not ideal for to have children to grow up learning how to go through a food line.”
Abney-Bass said the nonprofit didn’t want to necessarily normalize a congregate lifestyle for children, but to no fault of its previous programs or other current congregate programs.
“For us, there was never any question that non-congregate would be the path we would go down in order to provide family sheltering,” Abney-Bass said. “I think for the families, where that really shows up, at the very least it means you have a door to close. You have that physical safety piece; but what comes with that door … is emotional safety, also.”
Prior to the new facility, the Jesus Center previously served moms and their children. Abney-Bass said The Jesus Center saw a gap for full families however they identified themselves.
“With families, success looks like creating a space people actually felt comfortable coming to. That was the first big challenge,” Abney-Bass said. “As a mom, when you are going places with your children, your expectations are higher and your tolerance is lower. We are seeking a different type of safety and security when we have children with us.”
At the Renewal Center, families will be part of a program based on two themes: household management and providing food as a family, according to Abney-Bass.
Housing support, demand
Families entering the shelter have been referred by Butte County’s Housing Support Program, which provides families with transitional housing and permanent housing, Abney-Bass said.
During their stay, families will be attending classes in household management and family meal prep — two skills Abney-Bass said were identified as weak points for families moving into permanent housing.
And as they work on classes, providers will look for permanent housing for them, she said, adding that if the county isn’t able to find them permanent housing, then other options are provided after their six-month stay.
While the facility aims to chip away at securing housing for families, Abney-Bass said there are still many families in Chico that are currently experiencing homelessness or are housing insecure.
Abney-Bass, citing information from the Department of Employment and Social Services, said 527 families in the city of Chico applied for Housing Assistance July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. And since then, 121 have applied in the new fiscal year..
“These are families that are engaged. … there is sort of this misnomer that there are these families and people in this community that are just not engaged,” Abney Bass said.
“There is action on their behalf. … I think it’s an important point that there are likely more families than that” who are housing insecure, she said.
Acclimating to space
“There was some trepidation with these families coming into shelter,” Abney-Bass said, adding that one family almost missed the opportunity to enter shelter because they were turned off by the idea of shelter.
“They had an image or an idea of what shelter would look like … I was in a room with the first family and heard the comment from the family, ‘we had no idea it could be like this in shelter.’”
The families will be taking classes soon, but many have taken the past two weeks as a time to rest — likely the first time in a long time, according to Abney-Bass.
“Many of the families that have come in have described that their most recent living situation has been in a vehicle; has been in a very short term setting,” said Abney-Bass.
Upon moving in, families were given a grocery starter pack with fresh produce and proteins donated by the Latter-day Saints church; toys were put out to play for children; and televisions were turned on, she said.
Abney-Bass said the Renewal Center has come a long way since its planning began six years ago.
This week, a child who now lives at the shelter played ding-dong-ditch with the front desk, Abney-Bass said.
“Somebody said, ‘oh my gosh we had smoke alarms going off all over the place,’” She said. “And I had tears in my eyes and I was just laughing and was cheering. I was like, ‘Yes! It’s working. People are doing this,’”
Denial of responsibility! My Droll is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
