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Important news flash: The AHHA General Assembly for May 4th is CANCELED. There is so much to talk about and to do related to housing and direct services that involves you and AHHA. Please read on to see in what ways you can help with those things right now. AHHA's Shower Care-A-Van is currently providing services in Eureka, Arcata, and McKinleyville. We are continually being asked to expand our services in these areas and to other areas that request the mobile showers and pop up care center. We cannot expand without funding and more volunteer assistance from the local communities. Maybe you would like to volunteer if you live in or near communities that have requested the Care-A-Van so we can bring services to your community. Orick, Blue Lake, Rio Dell, North Arcata, Southern Humboldt, and more. We need community funding and grant writers to make it happen. We are always in need of volunteers in the Care-A-Van locations we serve. Thank you for considering this and working with your local community to bring the mobile showers and pop-up care center to you. Assistance needed to operate in various areas includes: - Soliciting, sorting, labeling and transporting donations - Laundering donated items - Transporting laundry to and from the Care-A-Van - Transporting trash and recycling after shower events - Restocking Care-A-Van supplies including hygiene, clothing, information on local resources - Making food to distribute at events, and distributing lunches - Helping to distribute resources through the Care-A-Van stations - Serving on our Board and or being a liaison from your community to the AHHA Board. AHHA has been working tirelessly over the past ten years to introduce affordable housing and shelter alternatives. A Tiny House Village and Emergency Housing Village draft ordinance has finally been presented to the public! We sent a notice out prior to the meeting but it was a very short timeline as the release of the draft was in close proximity to the Planning Commission hearing on April 18th. To view the proceedings and agenda of the Planning Commission regarding this ordinance follow this link: THV and EHV workshop meeting We are happy to report that the Commissioners did respond to several of the issues raised in public comments both verbal and written from AHHA and supporters of affordable housing alternatives for our unhoused and extremely low-income community members. If you would like to learn more about the ordinance and information about Tiny House Villages, check out the County page: THV and EHV . The County is still taking public input and AHHA invites your review, evaluation, and public input as well. You can participate in providing comments by calling 707-441-2634, emailing macevedo@co.humboldt.ca.us, or visiting the Planning & Building Department office located at 3015 H St. in Eureka. The County Planning Commission will hold a second THV&EHV workshop on May 13th from 3 to 5pm at the County Agricultural Center to address the Commissioners questions and concerns from the first workshop, as well as other public comments received to date. This additional workshop will provide for further discussion and additional public comment. Community members have the option to attend the workshop either virtually on Microsoft Teams or in person at the Humboldt County Agricultural Center at 5630 South Broadway in Eureka from 3 pm to 5 pm in the large auditorium. If you want to attend the workshop virtually on Microsoft Teams, visit the platform and enter the passcode 3W7Uei. Alternatively, you can call 949-508-0813 and enter the meeting ID: 607 381 557 to join the workshop on the phone. Please attend if you can in whatever way you can. The Tiny House Villages & Emergency Housing Villages Ordinance is intended to provide more housing options for an array of community members. It also needs to provide for the unhoused who need an affordable opportunity to transition out of homelessness. Please watch the video of the proceedings and when reviewing the ordinance and/or providing comments, keep in mind the following concerns as well as those mentioned by the Planning Commissioners in the public hearing that took place on April 18th: 1. What is the County’s role in implementing The Tiny House Villages & Emergency Housing Villages Ordinance? Will it result in more affordable emergency housing options for currently unhoused community members as a transition out of homelessness? Will it provide more affordable housing opportunities for those with low and extremely low income? 2. Is the County providing funding/grants/technical assistance or actively collaborating with community-based organizations and nonprofits to facilitate THV & EHV projects? What process has been established and made apparent for those entities wishing to create Dependent Unit villages or Alternative Lodging Parks? How does the County determine what entities or community-based organizations it selects to work with and what is the criteria? 3. Will the County suspend building codes and use the Shelter Crisis Act in place to make affordable housing alternatives possible, timely, and sustainable? 4. Will the County use the emergency shelter regulations to implement and sustain projects? How will the County Departments (Planning and Building, DHHS, Public Health, Environmental Health support the start-up and on-going success of projects? 5. Who can participate? Since the options in the village models are identified as Emergency Housing Villages, section 62.4 of the proposed ordinance, and do not mention the homeless or low-income individuals in either the Dependent Unit Villages or the Alternative Lodge Parks, shouldn’t this ensure more housing for unhoused community members? 6. Who can own the land on which projects can take place? Does the land need to be owned or leased by a city, county or city and county, in light of the Shelter Crisis Emergency? How can this Act be used with private landowners, since the intention is to open this ordinance up private developers? Will the county own the land? Will the County offer to hold a lease in order to facilitate the suspension of building codes? How will this work? 7. What provisions including funding and permissions are included to ensure that water and sewer are covered according to State Department of Environmental Health regulations? Regulations in the draft ordinance indicate a cap on the number of units per acre (e.g. Dependent Unit Villages at 20); While this seems too restrictive, the number of toilets and bathing facilities required seem excessive. What are the viable alternatives? 8. How will the County assist with implementing creative alternatives to conventional systems, e.g. waterless systems, such as composting toilets? Solar heating and lighting? And more. 9. How will the County ensure these THV and EHV projects, in light of the ordinance, will address truly affordable housing and sheltering for our unhoused community members? There is no mention of this in the ordinance at all. It is crucial that the County commits to facilitating opportunities for affordable, simple, and safe places for people to live and thrive. We encourage the County to engage in mutual aid and nonprofit collaboration to create a variety of affordable village projects. If you need more information, you can contact AHHA or call the Planning and Building Department. If you submit a public comment in writing or over the phone, or at the public workshop please state that you want it to be part of the public record. Thank you for taking the time to respond and encourage the County to do the right thing! We will post more info as we have it. AHHA is interested in participating in the development of an ordinance and acquiring funds to help build and run a Tiny House Village (THV) or an Emergency Housing Village (EHV). We plan to work with other non-profit organizations to ensure the success of this project. We have already seen successful models in action, such as Opportunity Village in Eugene, Oregon. We believe that this project requires a community effort, so we invite you to volunteer and participate with us. If you would like to help, please fill out an AHHA Volunteer Form and start making a difference in the opportunities for affordable places to live for our most vulnerable community members. We also want to give our congratulations and best wishes to Southern Humboldt Housing Opportunities for being selected by the County as a partner and securing a 3.5 million dollar grant to move forward with the development of safe sheltering, safe parking and their ultimate dream of a Tiny House Village for unhoused folks in Southern Humboldt. We believe these projects are more cost efficient when based in community support and mutual aid! https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox?projector=1 The May 3 General Assembly Meeting of AHHA is canceled! BUT, there are plenty of exciting things going on in our area on Saturday May 4th, such as: • The 41st Annual Wildflower Show, a FREE event at Jefferson Community Center 1000 B Street in Eureka. It is open on Sunday as well. • The 2nd Annual Chinatown Street Festival in the City of Eureka, 4pm to 9pm on E Street between 1st and 3rd Streets during Arts Alive. • California Native Plant Sale at Freshwater Farms Reserve 5851 Myrtle Ave, Eureka. Saturday by appointment only; Sunday open to all 10am-3pm. • Mental Health Town Hall at Eureka City Hall, 531 K Street or via Zoom (10a.m. – 4pm) at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86996857088?pwd=YzlNNDVmczUwdmF5eGRqUXFlVU5Wdz09
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