'These are both vulnerable communities': Plan to serve homeless in Delano from building that aids developmentally disabled draws concern
Jun. 19—A plan to provide homeless aid at a facility in Delano that serves the developmentally disabled has elicited concern from some of its clients and other city residents, who say the clients could be put at risk.
The plan would see the Delano Association for the Developmentally Disabled turn over a building on High Street to a Bakersfield-based homeless services provider from 6 p.m. to midnight. The DADD, which closes at 3 p.m., says its operations would not be impacted and the building would be sanitized before clients returned at 8 a.m.
Still, Delano City Councilwoman Veronica Vasquez says residents have voiced skepticism about the plan in two town halls she held earlier this year. One of the primary concerns is that homeless individuals will loiter in the area after operations close at midnight and the clients served by DADD could be negatively impacted.
"The ask is, 'why can't you just find another location?'" she said. "These are both vulnerable communities. They both deserve their own space."
But Mike Gutierrez, executive director of the DADD, does not believe serious issues will arise when homeless services are offered out of the High Street location. He says he volunteered the building in hopes that it could be used to help Delano's growing homelessness problem.
DADD provides living skills and employment assistance to about 400 individuals across Kern County. The private nonprofit helps people with autism, cerebral palsy and other disabilities network and live independently.
"The navigation center isn't something that we thought about doing haphazardly or without the concerns of the people we serve in mind," Gutierrez said, noting that a "large group" of clients want to help the homeless they see on a daily basis. "All the concerns that people addressed were looked at very deeply before the directors of DADD decided to allow this to happen."
Few homeless services exist in Delano, and Flood Ministries, which will operate the DADD site, had hoped to fill a crucial void with the navigation center. During its hours of operation, the navigation center will provide a hot meal, a shower and the ability to wash clothes. Additionally, social service workers will try to connect individuals with help to get them into stable housing.
"We are bringing over $800,000 to Delano to help with homelessness and that could go by the wayside," said Flood Ministries Executive Director Jim Wheeler, who noted the city of Delano would pay nothing through the plan. "People who are homeless in Delano are not being served well by the opposition to this project."
Yet some of the parents whose children go to DADD said they were considering pulling out of the program should the navigation center move forward. Maria Panuco, whose 29-year-old son does not speak other than saying "yes" or "no," says she worries about safety and cleanliness.
"Our children don't have a choice," she said through a translator. "They are ill and this is their only place to go, and they won't feel secure having them there, especially with their health issues."
Rubi Alvarado, a 24-year-old client of DADD with cerebral palsy, said she, too, was concerned about her safety. She said neither she nor other clients were asked their opinion on the plan before its approval.
"We are the most vulnerable community in Delano so I want to speak for those that don't have a voice," she said. "I'm scared, not only for me, but for the students that go there too."
She added that she did not trust DADD's leaders to follow through with the promises they had laid out about the plan.
"I'm not against helping the homeless people, but it's not OK to put them in our building, where we go to study," she said.
The city would be best served by two facilities, one for DADD and another for the homeless, some parents and clients contend.
The DADD navigation center is only meant to be a stopgap measure until a more suitable location for a homeless shelter is found. But that serves as little comfort for the families who are unsure how their children's services will be altered in the interim.
"These children are so vulnerable, they have vulnerable immune systems, so how can you even consider putting these two populations together?" asked Yolanda Chacon-Serna, a community member who empathizes with the parents because she has disabled family members. "The families are not against helping the homeless, but there needs to be a more adequate location."
You can reach Sam Morgen at 661-395-7415. You may also follow him on Twitter @smorgenTBC.
