Tiny homes for elderly homeless women proposed for parking lots of three churches
By Jerry Olenyn
Click here for updates on this story
CHICO, California (KHSL) — An innovative approach to addressing homelessness in Chico was the focus of discussion at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.
The North State Shelter Team is proposing a pilot program that would place tiny homes in church parking lots to house elderly women experiencing homelessness.
Action News Now has learned that the Community Church of God on East Avenue is one of three Chico churches considering allowing up to four tiny homes on its property. The homes would be designated specifically for senior women who are currently living on the streets.
“Depending on who you listen to, there are 40 to 80 senior women on the street every single night in Chico,” said Richard Hoyt, the pastor at the Community Church of God. “We’re very concerned about that population, and that’s who we want to help.”
The North State Shelter Team, a nonprofit that advocates for the homeless, believes the proposal could gain broad community support because of the vulnerable demographic it aims to serve.
“These ladies aren’t going out and hurting anyone,” said Lori Mason of the North State Shelter Team. “Their likelihood of having a drug or alcohol problem is less. Their ability to go out and raise hell or crawl through someone’s window and steal something is probably zero.”
While three of the seven councilmembers voted against the idea, Councilmember Mike O’Brien said he sees potential in the program. He suggested beginning with two tiny homes per church instead of four to help ease neighborhood concerns.
“I think neighbors will likely embrace something like that if it’s done well, and done small, and done very exclusively for older women,” O’Brien said. “I think that’s what we want to look at.”
The next step for the North State Shelter Team is to submit an official application to the city. Although churches are private property and do not require council approval for such projects, the group hopes to receive the council’s support before moving forward.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.