Department of Health and Human Services Director Ranell Brown says a new 60-bed emergency homeless shelter should be finished by June and accepting individuals by September. | Image courtesy of Del Norte County
Efforts to create a pathway out of homelessness on Williams Drive are progressing now that rubble from the county’s old mental health building has been cleared.
In her first update to the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors since August, Department of Health and Human Services Director Ranell Brown said Tuesday the county has purchased container units for the restrooms and commercial kitchen that will serve the micro village and 60-bed emergency shelter. Contractors are expected to finish renovating a modular structure that will house the program’s wraparound supports next month.
Though the county still needs to finalize the agreement with a contractor to build the shelter, Brown said it should be finished by June, weather permitting. She told supervisors that DHHS staff and Del Norte Mission Possible representatives are confident the entire endeavor can be completed by the end of August.
“Before we go into next winter, we will be good to go with everything,” Brown said. “We feel like we’re going at a better pace now that we can make some decisions since the old mental health building has been demolished. Del Norte Mission Possible will continue to do outreach to the encampments to [tell residents about] the next steps and where we’re going to go from here.”
On Wednesday, Brown told Redwood Voice Community News that individuals could be occupying both the shelter and the micro village by September.
“If the project finishes earlier than that, we will attempt to get individuals in sooner,” she said via email. “We are still finalizing the details, but Del Norte Mission Possible will lead the placement efforts by utilizing HUD guidelines for a Coordinated Entry System.”
According to Brown, that assessment process for those seeking assistance will be held at the offsite Navigation Center. Only approved residents will be allowed at the shelter and micro village, she said.
Del Norte Mission Possible staff reported that they had connected with 1,522 individuals who live in local encampments. About 40 individuals per week are seen at Mission Possible’s Navigation Center and 150 to 190 individuals were reached through collaboration with Open Door Clinic’s mobile medical bus as well as the Partnership Healthplan, Brown said.
“They continue to have ambassadors volunteer for cleanup and are hiring staff to prepare for the services at Williams Drive,” she said.
DHHS has been working with Del Norte Mission Possible and members of a homeless technical advisory committee that also includes supervisors Darrin Short and Dean Wilson on an ambitious plan to “create a continuum of housing services here.”
In November 2023, the county was awarded $10.8 million in state Encampment Resolution Funding program dollars toward that endeavor. In February 2024, after a years-long effort by Del Norte Mission Possible to find a suitable location for an emergency shelter, the Board of Supervisors agreed to house it alongside the micro village at the county’s Williams Drive campus.
The county completed asbestos remediation on the old mental health building between July 22 and Oct. 11, 2024. Crescent City Fire and Rescue held a training burn on Dec. 3 and Dec. 7. According to District 1 Supervisor Darrin Short, who is a battalion chief with the fire department, debris cleanup following the burn was recently completed.
The site plan for the micro village and the shelter layout and plans have been submitted to the Community Development department.
According to Brown, the county is required to have spent 50 percent of the grant and have the remainder obligated by June. The entire $10.8 million is required to be spent by June 2026, she said.
“We are on track to do that,” she said. “To date, we’ve expended about $3 million and have obligated about $6 million. The remainder [of the grant] is really going to be the bulk of the shelter contractor to actually erect the shelter.”
The ERF program requires the county to operate the shelter through March 2027.
The emergency shelter will be housed in a 6,700 square-foot metal building, Brown said. Some of the 60 beds will be bunk beds and others will be in a walled-off area of the facility to offer privacy for those who are recuperating after having been in the hospital.
There will be eight bathrooms — residents will need to check out keys to access them, Brown said — along with laundry facilities and a space for meals. The dining area will have easy access to the kitchen, which will also serve the micro village, Brown said.
“It’s a single story, but it has this pitched center to allow for additional natural light, which will be a more inviting environment,” she said. “The name will be determined. Right now it is Del Norte County Shelter to represent what the building actually is. There are different ideas of potentially soliciting community suggestions for thoughts on the naming of the shelter. And then the color scheme selected is similar to the other buildings in the area.”
As for the micro village, there will be 25 pallet homes each housing two units, Brown said. There will be two bathroom units, green space for a pet area and, possibly, garden boxes and a community facility, she said.
