Despite limited resources, Nevada County is doing a heroic job handling the area's homeless population, according to the Nevada County civil grand jury.
In a report issued this week, the grand jury said the growing demand for help was reflected at the Food Bank of Nevada County, where 770 families were assisted in January 2009, compared to 392 the previous January.
Demand for food, shelter and fuel from the Emergency Assistance Coalition has more than doubled, according to the report.
The grand jury is an arm of the superior court that tries to help improve government functions at the request of county residents and others, according to the county's Web site. The panel is composed of 19 people serving one-year terms.
A census of the homeless the grand jury observed in January in shelters, camps and transient areas found an estimated 50 to 60 homeless children in the county.
The grand jury's report did not quantify the increase in the number of homeless people, but the estimated the increase was not a result of more people moving here.
One member of the grand jury told The Union Wednesday it was difficult to determine the actual number of homeless, and the county's watchdog group was working with the best information available.
The grand jury also lauded a 40 percent increase in funding for the homeless from the county's Health and Human Services Agency. The report also suggested that homeless aid should be a year-round effort in Nevada County.
Although the grand jury applauded the efforts of the county and area nonprofits including the Food Bank, emergency coalition, Hospitality House, Salvation Army and Family Resource Center of Truckee, it suggested better coordination among those agencies was needed.
“It's actually happening right now,” said Hospitality House Executive Director Cindy Maple on Wednesday. Representatives of the nonprofits and the county's Health and Human Services Agency have been talking about how to avoid duplication in services and finding more housing, Maple said.
The county's Health and Human Services Agency will host a workshop this fall to further a cooperative effort, the report said.
“We're OK, but if we don't up our income, we may have to cut back a little here and there,” Maple said. “We're feeling the loss of some donations because of the economy.”
The doors are still open for showers, weekday lunches and information referrals at Hospitality House in downtown Grass Valley. The center takes about 30 people to area churches for overnight shelter from Oct. 15 to April 30 during the cold months.
The center recently applied for a $200,000 federal grant to increase the time of the shelter program from mid-September to the end of May. It now operates from mid-October to around mid-April.
“Eventually, we want to go year-round to keep people out of freezing and hot temperatures,” Maple said late last month.
The community has been generous, but the center needs to find a stable funding source, Maple said.
During the 2008-09 season, the shelter program had 5,700 overnight stays, up 26 percent from the year before when 4,500 needed a place to stay, Maple said.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
http://www.theunion.com/article/20090618/NEWS/906179976&parentprofile=search
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