Homeless Shelters Crowded...

From the 11/13/06 Press Democrat: Demand for shelter beds in Sonoma County outpacing additions in recent years

A cold, wet front that swept into the North Bay last week, dropping temperatures into the low and mid-30s, marked the first serious signs of winter weather this season, an annual shift that spells misery for the area's homeless.

The opening and expansion of several emergency shelters in Santa Rosa and Petaluma during the past few years have created space for at least 265 people that was not available five years ago, all of it available year-round. The county boasts emergency shelter for a total of 625 adults, children and infants.

But finding a bed remains a day-to-day proposition for many people without a home. Individual beds usually become available only as residents leave, or in some cases, when they are turned out for breaking rules like those involving alcohol, drugs or consistent use of the beds assigned them.

Santa Rosa shelters, hovering just below full for much of the past year, have been running at full capacity for the past few weeks, said Nick Baker, program director for the Catholic Charities Homeless Services Center, which handles intake for several local shelters.

The same is true at Petaluma's 2-year-old Mary Isaak Center, run by the Committee on the Shelterless, or COTS. In the past three weeks, there has been an upturn in demand, director Mike Johnson said.

The COTS' facility, with 100 emergency shelter beds, and Santa Rosa's Samuel L. Jones Hall, with 80, have proved crucial additions to the loosely coordinated countywide system.

"After living in the bushes all summer, I love this place," Edward Mayville, homeless since 1986 and a relative newcomer to what's known commonly as Sam Jones, said Friday.

Advocates for the homeless are hopeful space will be adequate for those who seek basic shelter - at least along the county's central corridor, where shelters and services are concentrated.

But there are always people sleeping outside, and a lack of services on the outskirts - especially in west Sonoma County and the Sonoma Valley - mean people there are more likely to be outdoors, some advocates said.

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