|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
WeHOPE, a local nonprofit that provides wraparound services to people who are homeless, proposed a plan Tuesday night at East Palo Alto’s City Council meeting to build a transitional housing shelter at the Tanklage site, an empty lot at 1798 Bay Road in East Palo Alto.
The proposed project would temporarily operate between August 2025 and February 2030 to make way for a new East Palo Alto police station, which the city has discussed building at the site. The station is currently located at 141 Demeter St. until Oct. 31, 2029.
WeHOPE is in favor of eventually using the site for the police department, said Paul Bains, East Palo Alto pastor, president of WeHOPE and former police officer, at Tuesday’s meeting.
To provide shelter for the homeless population before catering to police department needs, the shelter would be built upon a temporary foundation, which the city would be able to deconstruct in two weeks, Bains said.
The shelter would provide housing in the form of 12 modular units, or 320 sq ft buildings, with 48 beds total, allowing each person to stay in a single or double occupancy room for about four to six months.
During a resident’s stay, WeHOPE would work to provide personalized case management and support to facilitate a path toward long-term housing, Bains said.
Residents would also be registered in the County Homeless Management Information System to enable “coordinated support across county services,” according to WeHOPE’s presentation.
WeHOPE estimated the construction would take 6 months and cost $2.04 million for the structures and site improvements, and annual operation costs would come out to around $2.1 million including case management, transportation and security.
While the nonprofit is awaiting city approval to begin raising funds, it is seeking potential funding from the County of San Mateo, the City of East Palo Alto, the San Mateo County Department of Housing and private donors.
A point-in-time count conducted in January 2024 across the county revealed that there were 81 people living on the streets in East Palo Alto, although WeHOPE estimates there are about double the amount of people today.
“We’re here tonight to ask you to support this type of program so that we can help our unhoused brothers and sisters,” Bains said at the meeting.
The majority of council members expressed support for the project aside from newly appointed Vice Mayor Mark Dinan, who expressed concern about the project’s temporary nature, potential interference with police department relocation and the possibility of people from outside the city using the services – instead, he suggested finding a more permanent location.
“I don’t want East Palo Alto to become a dumping ground,” he said.
Bains disagreed with the concerns and was confident in the quick deconstruction process.
“We all own the unhoused problem and we have a duty to act and a duty to act expeditiously,” said council member Carlos Romero, who called the project doable. “When it came to the safe parking program, and dismantling that, that was done in an efficient way,” he said, referring to WeHOPE’s innovative safe RV parking pilot that was located at the Tanklage site.
The program, which provided RVs more permanent parking locations with utilities like showers, eventually was able to permanently house over 60 families due to case management services and collaboration with local entities, Bains said in an interview.
“Our mission and vision is to help people become healthy, employed and housed,” Bains said.
Council member Ruben Abrica was also in favor of the project, and felt that it could inspire similar initiatives and work across county lines.
“We shouldn’t wait,” he said.
The city has not explicitly dedicated funds to the project, but expressed overwhelming support for the plan.
WeHOPE plans to seek partnerships to fund the project in the coming months, Bains said.
This version corrects Mark Dinan’s title. He is vice mayor.
