Homeless in the mountains

With cold winter nights descending on the area, homeless people in Scotts Valley and San Lorenzo Valley have limited local resources.
Though the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors last week adopted several measures aimed at reducing homelessness, the majority of those actions were aimed at serving the area close to Santa Cruz.
“We’re (Santa Cruz County) getting stretched pretty thin at this point,” said Fifth District Supervisor Bruce McPherson, who represents San Lorenzo Valley. “We try to do as much as we can with what we have.”
While it is true that San Lorenzo Park, and soon to be Harvey West Park, represent magnet gathering places for the homeless, areas just a few miles away from downtown remain underserved.
“The City of Scotts Valley does not offer resources for the homeless,” said Steve Walpole, chief of police, adding that officers see homeless people at shopping centers along Mt. Hermon Road during the daytime hours. “But there are non-governmental agencies who offer services like our local ministries.”
Scotts Valley Mayor Randy Johnson agreed that homeless services must be strategically located within the county to fill the greatest need.
“The most valuable services for homeless people fall outside our city and are located in different parts of the county,” he said. “Fewer homeless come to Scotts Valley because of that geographical fact.”
In 2017, the Scotts Valley Police Department responded to 269 incidents involving people who identified themselves as homeless — 4 percent of the total calls for service, according to Walpole.
Johnson added that Scotts Valley actively participates in the regional Homeless Action Partnership (HAP) Collaborative, five county jurisdictions that generate $2.3 million annually toward housing subsidy and supportive services.
As a part of that partnership the North County Winter Shelter in Santa Cruz will be open until April 15 this winter, an increase of 22 nights over last year. About 100 homeless people used the shelter nightly last year.
Those involved with helping the less fortunate realize all too well that the issue is serious.
In 2017, 50 homeless people lost their lives, a rise of about 13 over the previous year.
“We are sometimes shocked and always saddened by their deaths,” said Joseph Crottogini, Health Center Manager, County of Santa Cruz Homeless Persons Health Project. “Each person who died will be missed.”
Earlier this week, Crottogini helped organize the 19th Annual Memorial Ceremony, which honored members of the local homeless community who passed away over the last year.
One homeless person passed away in San Lorenzo Valley this year, according to the 2017 Annual Report on Homeless Deaths.
The cause of homelessness is often hard to identify, though 25 percent of those polled said they became homeless because they lost their job, according to the county’s 2017 Homeless Census & Survey.
Seventeen percent reported alcohol and drug use, 14 percent they had been evicted, 10 percent had a family argument and 9 percent reported medical issues.
In the sprawl that makes up the San Lorenzo Valley, where the homeless gather on the grassy hills around Safeway in Felton and the Covered Bridge, the closest official shelter is seven miles down Highway 9 in Santa Cruz.
Transients instead rely on the kindness of organizations such as Valley Churches United, Presbyterian Church in Felton and Mountain Community Resources.
Statistics regarding how crime is related to homelessness in SLV were not immediately available, according Sgt. Chris Clark, spokesman for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Dept.
“I wish I had the answer to solve the homeless problem in Santa Cruz County,” McPherson said, acknowledging the county’s inability to generate programs everywhere there is need for a population of 2,500. “The county can’t do enough to solve them all.”
• Mountain Community Resources, 6134 Highway 9 Felton, (831)335-6600, Hours: Walk-in, Monday – Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; by appointment Monday – Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Community advocacy, teen support, parenting, emergency preparedness, food distribution
• Felton Presbyterian Church, 6090 Highway 9, (831)335-6900, free lunch Tuesday for those in need, Wednesday, noon to 1 p.m.
• Valley Churches United, 9400 Highway 9, Ben Lomond, (831)336-8258, open daily 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed weekends, Food pantry, rent of mortgage assistance, utility assistance, clothing and transportation.