LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — An Oroville-based nonprofit that has been operating Lake County’s emergency COVID-19 shelter said it will cease operating the facility in September.
In a statement published on its website, the Elijah House Foundation said it will no longer operate the shelter at 1111 Whalen Way in Lakeport as of Sept. 4.
The shelter has been operating in the county’s former juvenile hall facility which Elijah House has been in negotiations with the county to purchase.
“The reason why Elijah House is pulling out is due to funding,” Behavioral Health Services Director Todd Metcalf told Lake County News.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors — as part of its consent agenda — approved a request from Metcalf to extend the use of the former juvenile hall facility for a temporary support shelter targeting Lake County's chronically homeless population through Sept. 30.
Metcalf’s report for the item explained that on July 20, 2020, the board approved a contract between Lake County Behavioral Health Services and Elijah House to fund continued COVID-19 homeless shelter operations at the old juvenile hall.
He said Elijah House is confident it can continue to run the shelter through Sept. 30, “however, due to funding constraints, operations may cease before then.”
He said Lake County’s Space Use Committee “has provided ongoing support for the use of the former juvenile hall facility on a temporary basis for the purpose of a homeless shelter.”
The Elijah House Foundation said in its online statement that it is talking with the Lake County Continuum of Care and other agencies that address homelessness in hopes of identifying a nonprofit willing to take over operations of the emergency shelter.
Metcalf said he’s met with a nonprofit which is potentially interested in taking over the shelter, with a follow-up meeting planned for Aug. 4.
Since the 32-bed shelter opened on July 27, 2020, Elijah House said it has served more than 400 individuals, offering meals, laundry service, showers and personal items, and providing case management to connect shelter residents with services.
Elijah House said it offered housing navigation to help clients gain permanent housing, and provided independent living training and job development with the Back2Work program.
The organization said its employees have helped more than 100 people find permanent housing, reconnected 41 people with families and helped 38 people gain employment.
All of the shelter’s 32 residents will be placed in alternate housing, which Elijah House said was managed through working with Lake County agencies and connecting clients with their families, and with the generosity of local philanthropists.
Elijah House said it will continue to offer housing navigation, case management, employment development through the Back2Work Program, general counseling and placement into sober living housing at its Lucerne location, 6110 East Highway 20, the site of the former Lake County visitor center.
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