Chico's housing situation is in crisis.

Even before the Camp Fire, the rental vacancy rate in Chico was just over 1%. Now in Summer 2019, it's even less than 1%.  The Camp Fire displaced around 35,000 residents (CNBC, 5/16/2019). Chico's population increased by 20% almost overnight. 

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Many Section 8 voucher holders are unable to find any housing they can afford. Before the Camp Fire, only 25% of Section 8 voucher holders in Butte County were able to find housing in the allowed time frame.  Since the fire, that number has dropped to 10%  (Chico Enterprise-Record, 8/02/2019).

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Rents are going up quickly and more renters are being evicted (Chico News & Review, 7/11/2019) as owners sell their properties to cash in on the tight real estate market. 

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There is not enough affordable housing in Chico or Butte County for everyone who needs it. We have many applicants that we don't have space for. Unhoused seniors in Chico especially face difficulty finding affordable housing on extremely limited incomes.

CHAT is creating solutions by:

• acting as property manager for rentals throughout Chico and providing free maintenance

• providing rentals to low-income residents at no more than 30% of their income

• providing supportive services from skilled social workers for residents who need them and connecting residents to other local service agencies

• getting funding from grassroots donations and from grants from corporations, foundations, and public agencies

The Safe Space Winter Shelter, a former CHAT project, is no longer operated by CHAT.