The Homeless Coalition Summit will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

“This summit is including everybody around the lake,” said Clearlake City Council member Joyce Overton. “This is not just for Clearlake.”

Larry Lakes, the new executive director of Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa, will be the summit's facilitator, said Georgina Lehne, executive director of the Lake County Community Action Agency.

Lehne said the meeting is meant to bring together groups and individuals – nonprofits, churches, senior centers and others – who work with the homeless to see what they can do.

Overton called the summit, which she hopes will result in strategies for helping to address homelessness throughout Lake County. Other hoped-for outcomes are the recruitment of volunteers and the formal formation of a homeless coalition that's been meeting on an informal basis since last year.

She said the community always has had homeless members, adding, “With the economy we're going to be seeing a lot of families and children out on the street.”

With winter right around the corner, it's a pressing concern, said Overton, and she wants to both raise awareness and find ways of sheltering the homeless through the colder parts of the year.

“I feel that this year is going to be worse than ever,” she said.

Last year, Overton worked with a group on the “Warm for the Winter” campaign, which consisted of giving blankets, tents and warm clothing to homeless community members.

Overton said she had calls for help from all around Lake County. The problem, she said, isn't just in Clearlake. “It's everywhere.”

At the time, Overton said they had no place to shelter them, although Calvary Church opened its doors in the daytime to offer them a place to get out of the cold.

Otherwise, “There is no emergency shelter in this county,” said Overton.

Overton believes the foreclosure crisis is resulting in more individuals and families finding themselves without a place to call home.

Lehne said she has some statistical data to show homelessness is growing, and that it isn't just anecdotal. However, she said she's hoping that those who participate in the summit will be able to offer more information to track the situation.

“The need in the community has really grown,” she said.

Lehne said it will be good to have the different groups who see the problem firsthand in the room, so they can share ideas and coordinate services, which will prevent duplication.

Overton said she hopes the group will be able to find stimulus money to fund a shelter.

She also wants to bring to the community a plan to end homelessness, based on Riverside County's “10-Year Strategy to End Homeless,” which was taken to the National League of Cities. Several communities and cities around the nation, including Chicago and Seattle, have their own such plans.

“I really want my community to sign on,” said Overton, who wants to introduce the document this fall, around Thanksgiving.

Overton said US Housing and Urban Development is helping promote the plan, and agency officials have met with Overton and others to discuss solutions.

“The process is just beginning as far as what we can all do to help,” said Lehne.

To see the Riverside plan to end homelessness, visit www.riversidehomeless.org/ .

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews .

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Excellent....
written by lenny, September 19, 2009

thank you for your leadership on this one Joyce...

...
written by yellowwing, September 19, 2009

Ending homelessness....yeah, right.

Very confusing:
written by Old Coot, September 19, 2009

I thought that Obama's unicorns would have solved this problem by now; I mean, wasn't homelessness and all other ills of society the fault of George Bush?

Fantastic...
written by cale_page, September 19, 2009

Another ploy to bring low or no income families to our area? I hope not. There are alot of people who need help around here and they are not all homeless. Our "community leaders" profiting off of them is the main reason we have such a high rate of poverty around here. Not to mention drug abuse. How about creating some jobs. Create a GOOD city plan with moderate growth and actual revenue creating ideas. If you find work for people, they will find their own homes.

Give it a rest old coot -
written by Donna Christopher, September 19, 2009

if he had come up with a plan to address this problem you'd be posting what a tax & spend commie he is.

This is an issue that needs to be addressed so kudos those who are doing so. And with the coming closing of Konocti the problem won't be getting better anytime soon.

Amazing that our NG Armory is big enough to handle the wine auction & party but can't be used in the winter to shelter the homeless.

You are the real leaders
written by Fran, September 19, 2009

of our communities, Lakes, Lehne, Overton and the others who are making this effort to help those at the very lowest socio-economic level. When we talk about our "community" we must include everyone, not just the wine sipping upper strata. If we don't, it is not truly a community. When I was a tutor, I remember an essay written by one of the high school students titled "When We Lived In Our Car." As a former social worker, I know this is happening. It does not matter how an individual or family became homeless. What is important is that as a community we help to make sure that every man, woman and child has a comfortable place to sleep, nutritious food to eat, and a place where they can shower and do laundry. These are the basic essentials that everyone needs to maintain dignity in our culture.
Let's support this effort instead of arguing about who deserves help and who doesn't, etc. etc.

National Guard Armory
written by AnnieSmith, September 19, 2009

I agree, Donna. However, in Santa Clara County, where we have out Cold Weather Shelter program from December to about February, the rules & regs are stringent. The homeless have to report after 5:00p.m. and be OUT by 5:30a.m. Just the hike alone to that place is wrenching; then, then being that the jail is right there...what homeless person in their right mind/or altered state would go there. The dynamics are so different here. Got to go to that summit....and people, remember, anyone can be homeless, there is no room for judgments in MOST cases

Old Coot, wake up!
written by OneFamily, September 19, 2009

NO ONE president created the homelessness problem. Homelessness has been around for a long time; you should remember the "HOBO's" and shantytowns. What you must realize is that the problem has been exacerbated over time. That means that the policies of the previous 8 years of Republican administration have only complicated the problem.
No one is "at fault", why must you blame someone! There is only one cause of homelessness and that is GREED. Those who only care about their share are greedy. Everyone deserves a safe place to rest their head at the end of the day. There are many reasons for homelessness, among them, Mental Illness, loss of a job, no available jobs, a system that keeps people in the cycle of poverty never allowing them to earn enough, long enough to break that cycle. There is also bankruptcy from medical bills, slum lords taking money for slum living(squandering OUR tax dollars), the lack of personable responsibility on WALL STREET, the lack of ethics among our government and the "lobbyist". Take your pick!
The answer is really a question! Are we to treat everyone equal or do you only have the right to get what is yours and forget everyone else? Do we all have some responsibility to care for the welfare of fellow human beings? What about children, what have they done? The only reason that there are group homes is because not enough people open their hearts to care for children who have had the misfortune to be born into families that do not function.
Stop blaming and come up with solutions! Real ones, Humane ones! Pray brother, cause you really need to. You could be homeless someday and it will not necessarily be your own fault.
.

No offense to anyone
written by OneFamily, September 19, 2009

but finding out about the summit on Satruday does not allow for enough time to plan to even be there. Wish I had known this was happening sooner.
I am sure others would rather be finding solutions than just complaining about what "IS". People are homeless for whatever reason.
"What is is and what ain't, ain't", and Old Coot, you IS complaining, and you ain't helping the problem.

BANKS 2 BIG TO FELL
written by debbie, September 19, 2009

ID THE HOMELESS DO THIS TO THEM SELFS,I DONT THINK SO,I TO HAVE TO GO TO THE COURT BECAUSE OF THE GREED AT BANKS,SO SCOOT OVER I AS WELL AS ANYONE COULD BE NEXT,LET US AS A CALIF COUNTY JUST TELL THE BANK SCREW YOU YOUR NOT TAKING OUR LOCAL CITIZENS HOMES,BUT THEY WONT NO GUTS IM TAKING ON THIS BIG BANK ALL BY MY LONESOME, ATTORYS WONT HELP,BECAUSE THERE MONEY HUNGERY TO SO GOD BLESS ALL THAT HAVE LOST SO MUCH,LET STAND TOGEATHER,NOT APART

a multifaceted Band-Aid
written by lenny, September 20, 2009

As we all know, running the political spectrum from far right to left, homelessness is a growing, complex , multifaceted problem. My suggestion, KEEP IT SIMPLE.

Now let me possibly bore you with a personal story. December 25th 1989, Guerneville. I was closing down the vets hall from our annual x-mas dinner. Everyone had left with the exception of “Wheelchair Bob” and myself. It was freezing outside, literally. I asked Bob where he was going. He said, “don’t worry about me, I’ll be OK”. Thank god I had the keys to the Odd Fellows Hall ¼ blk away. I opened the building for Bob, turned on the heat, assisted him onto the floor. Holding back tears he struggled to say, “thank you”.

The next day I saw Mike Reilly, then, Director of West County Community Services (just finished his 3rdterm as County Supervisor 5th district for Sonoma). I told him this is totally unacceptable, people are dieing out there in the cold! He agreed and said, “give me a couple of weeks to see what I can do”. About 2 weeks later I was driving past West County Community Services and there’s Mike, up on a ladder hooking up electrical lines to 4 large storage trailers. I stopped and asked him what he was doing. He said, “you wanted a homeless shelter, what do you want to call it?”

That was the beginning of “River Rest“. Opened every October 15 and closed on the 15 of April. Check in was between 6pm and 9pm. No drugs or alcohol. If you were to drunk don’t even bother to check in. Housing 6 to a unit. Bedroll, sleeping bags with pillows assigned. The trailers were vacated every morning. Shelter clients kept their belongings in a secured area so they did not have to carry them all day and were readily available upon their return. Check out time was 6am because I had to be to work…get home take a shower etc

We had a campfire each night, cooking and basically having fun! Different community services would join us around the campfire, reaching out to this population, hence meeting the homeless in their setting of comfort, providing a perceived safer level enabling trust to be established and the possibility of positive changes in their life…..and with that I could write a book!

Five years later the River flooded as did the trailers and West County Community Services.

I had the pleasure of running this shelter for 5 years. It was a Band-Aid that often became multifaceted capturing a group of diverse individuals I will never forget.

Cap and Trade
written by murply, September 21, 2009

This problem will only get worse when Cap and Trade is passed. People will not be able to afford to keep warm. Or choose to be warm and not eat. Mike Thompson voted for this cap and trade. Wonder what his solution is?