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CHICO HOUSING ACTION TEAM
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From Homelessness to Housing
Making a Difference In Chico Since 2013
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As of January 2020, we're housing over 135 people in 38 units throughout Chico!
But the need is so much greater.
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Our new CHAMP program starting Jan 2020, funded via a grant from the state of CA, which creates incentives for landlords to rent to low-income people
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and our planned Simplicity Village project, a tiny house village for un-housed seniors.
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CHAT's mission is to ensure that everyone in our community has access to housing they can afford. Some of the ways we do this are to provide low-income rental housing, provide access for residents to supportive services like food donations and health-care, connect them with other community resources, work with them to create goals and help them develop life skills, and develop visionary alternative housing projects.
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Our current programs:
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Housing Now, where we rent rooms in houses or apartments to individuals and families and provide access to services
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Hand Up Supportive Housing, where we rent homes to families and provide access to services
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Nov. 11, 2019: Business Owner Files New Lawsuit Against the City of Chico and the Planning Director
Payless Building Supply owner Frank Solinsky recently filed a lawsuit against the City of Chico and the city planning and community director regarding Simplicity Village (article at Chico ER).
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CHAT feels that each community needs to do its part to develop creative and pro-active solutions, if we are to address homelessness successfully. Tiny house villages are one solution. They provide affordable housing for people who simply cannot afford to rent a home at market prices. Simplicity Village will have 33 tiny houses, with shared amenities. The City has determined that this project is a good plan, and a good fit for the neighborhood, and CHAT is confident the City's decision rests on solid legal ground. We look forward to a quick resolution to this lawsuit, and to getting started with this great project.
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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.
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).
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.
When rents go up faster than incomes and not enough affordable housing is being built, low-income renters may have nowhere else to go but the streets. We are making a difference in Chico with our projects.
CHAT PROJECTS
The Safe Space Winter Shelter, a former CHAT project, is no longer operated by CHAT.
HOUSING NOW
Renting rooms, houses, apartments, and trailers to individuals and families
SIMPLICITY VILLAGE
Our planned tiny house village for seniors - projected to start building Fall 2019
NEWS ARTICLES AND THE CHAT BLOG
In The News
Articles About CHAT, Housing & Homelessness in Butte County and California, and Tiny Homes for the Unhoused
1/04/2020 - Chico Enterprise-Record
Chico Community Gathers to Highlight Work of Local Organizations at Respectful Revolution Party
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1/02/2020 - Chico News and Review
Chico Vice Mayor Alex Brown: Resolving to do Better on Homelessness
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12/14/2019 - KOMO News
Tacoma's First Tiny Home Village for Homeless To Open Next Week
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12/05/2019 - Chico Enterprise-Record
The Complicated Process of Handling the Death of a Homeless Person
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12/05/2019 - Chico Enterprise-Record
California To Send Millions of Dollars to Cities to Combat Homelessness
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11/29/2019 - Chico Enterprise-Record
Woman Found Dead Off The Esplanade Bike Trail
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11/28/2019 - Chico Enterprise-Record
Rural Homelessness Faces Unique Challenges in Chico
11/26/2019 - The California Aggie
Sacramento Considers Building Tiny House Village For Homeless
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December 2019 - Harper's Magazine
Gimme Shelter: The High Cost of Living in the Bay Area
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11/13/2019 - Chico Enterprise-Record
Letter to the Editor: Simplicity Village Deserves a Chance
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11/11/2019 - People Magazine
Vet Offers Tiny Homes to Female Vets Who Struggle To Get Back on Their Feet
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11/08/2019 - Patch.com/Healdsburg
Tiny Homes, Big Heart: Houses for Camp Fire, Kincade Victims
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11/08/2019 - Huffington P0st
One Year After California's Deadliest Wildfire, Many Still Don't Have a Place to Call Home
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11/06/2019 - Bloomberg.com
How California Became America's Housing Market Nightmare
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