East Palo Alto Homelessness

Recliner Abandoned by the Warming Shelter on Bay Road, East Palo Alto

With the Red Blanket From the Born Again Christian Center

DSBE's Sauber Janitorial Services Division Donated.

Image (c) 2013 DSBE dsb-e.com All Rights Reserved

DSBE is committed to improving the sheltering of, and assistance to, the homeless citizens of East Palo Alto through the following:

1. Lobbying for Project WeHope's Warming Shelter organization and property to comply with Federal, State, County, and City tax, fire, health, and building codes;
2. Lobbying for Project WeHope's Warming Shelter to come into compliance with California's definition of an "emergency shelter" per California's Health and Safety Code Section 50801 as being a facility in which people may not reside there for more than 180 days by evicting some of its de facto tenants (some of whom have lived there for two or three years,) thereby opening up space for others in East Palo Alto who are unsheltered, or lose its status as a homeless shelter and thereby its legal protections and tax benefits as such along with qualification for any funding as an emergency homeless shelter. As stated in Section 50800 of the code, "It is also the intent of the Legislature to encourage the move of homeless persons from shelters to a self-supporting environment as soon as possible." The people who have lived at the Warming Shelter for years have been capable of just that;
3. Lobbying for Project WeHope to work with San Mateo County's Housing Authority and HIP Housing to place the estimated 10-20% of its sheltered residents who have exceeded the State's definition of 180 days to form collective households within East Palo Alto (e.g., apartments available through County Housing on Newell;)
4. Lobbying for the property owned by Dante and Patricia Baines dba Action Associates ("The People's Plaza") which includes Project WeHope's shelter to be free of drug dealing;
5. Lobbying to secure grant funding to pay for local YMCA gym memberships and its increased facility costs to so East Palo Alto's homeless have access its community activities, and its exercise and shower facilities as the Warming Shelter has but one shower for all of East Palo Alto's homeless and San Mateo County's complete reliance on the St. Vincent de Paul Society is irresponsible, dysfunctional, and inadequate as one is limited to two showers a week at the Red Morton Center in Redwood City at the expense of Catholic charities and not the County -- a location impractically far from East Palo Alto besides;
6. Lobbying to secure grant funding to subsidize the use of PAL Market's T & T Laundry Mat and/or other in city laundromats for East Palo Alto's homeless as the Warming Shelter has only one washer and dryer for all of our city's homeless citizens and the County's reliance on the St. Vincent de Paul Society would have them go to Spin City in Redwood City only twice a month for one load. (N.b., T & T is the closest public laundry facility to the Warming Shelter, but its machines do not use cashcards;)
7. Lobbying for Project WeHOPE to clean up the garbage piling up outside the Warming shelter's front door and to maintain the area's cleanliness for the public health;
8. Lobbying for Project WeHOPE to get its own garbage, recycling, and composting bins from Recology;
9. Lobbying for Project WeHOPE to place and maintain chemical toilets outside its shelter, and possibly in other locations in East Palo Alto, for the use of those unsheltered or who arrived "home" too late and are shut out;
10. Writing a Resource Guide for the Homeless of East Palo Alto whose content will be published on this site, in print, and whose source code will be supplied to the City and County pro bono. See Homeless Guidebook for more details;
11. Helping the homeless get a free cellphone and service per the new PUC implentation of the FCC Lifeline program in conjuction with the City of East Palo Alto and Virgin Mobile (this program will then be extended to all qualifying low-income residents of East Palo Alto.) See Free Cellphone Program for more details.
12. Lobbying for the Warming Shelter to conform with State and Federal guidelines and regulations regarding the operation of and qualification as a homeless shelter;
13. Lobbying for Project WeHOPE and/or another organization to fulfill the City's consultants' recommendations for a 24/7 year-round light services shelter;
14. Lobbying for periodic funding audits by the City of East Palo Alto and the County of San Mateo of how the money granted to Project WeHOPE has been spent;
15. Lobbying for the City of East Palo Alto and County of San Mateo to defend its resources, such as The Warming Shelter, against our neighbors Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, and Santa Clara County's increasing legislation against their homeless residents, as it drives them out of their jurisdictions and into East Palo Alto.