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Our Annual Appeal is Under Way!
We're asking all our supporters to give generously to CHAT in this giving season. CHAT is creating low-cost housing in Chico for people who would otherwise be living on the streets or in homeless shelters, because of sickness, disability, trauma, divorce, or any one of a myriad reasons. Over 130 people are now living in CHAT housing, over fifty percent more than we were housing just a year ago.
With more resources we could help so many more people. Giving to CHAT means more housing for low-income individuals in Chico, which will make Chico a better place for everyone. Please click here to make a one-time gift or a monthly donation!
From the bottom of our hearts: thank you SO MUCH for your support!
CHICO HOUSING ACTION TEAM
From Homelessness to Housing
Making a Difference In Chico Since 2013
As of November 2019, we're housing
130 people in 35 units throughout Chico!
But the need is so much greater.
Our mission is to get people off the streets
and into supportive housing, connect them
with community services, give them life
skills, and move them into permanent
housing, via:
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our Housing Now program for renting rooms to individuals and families
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our Hand Up Supportive Housing program for renting homes to families
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and our planned Simplicity Village project, a tiny house village for un-housed seniors.
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).
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.
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
UPCOMING FEATURED EVENTS
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
December 2019 - Harper's Magazine
Gimme Shelter: The High Cost of Living in the Bay Area
11/13/2019 - Chico Enterprise-Record
Letter to the Editor: Simplicity Village Deserves a Chance
11/11/2019 - People Magazine
Vet Offers Tiny Homes to Female Vets Who Struggle To Get Back on Their Feet
11/06/2019 - Bloomberg.com
How California Became America's Housing Market Nightmare
10/24/2019 - Chico Enterprise-Record
10/17/2019 - Chico Enterprise-Record
Letter to the Editor from CHAT Supporter: Trying to Lighten The Rent Burden
10/12/2019 - Chico Enterprise-Record
League of Women Voters of Butte County Hosts Community Forum on Rental Housing
10/10/2019 - Chico News & Review
CN&R's Best of Chico: CHAT Named "Best Cause to Support"
10/07/2019 - 9News.com
Denver City Council Passes Zoning Change to Allow For More Tiny-House Villages for the Unhoused
10/03/2019 - Chico News & Review
9/24/2019 - Chico
City Votes to Move Ahead with Tiny Home Village in Special Meeting
9/18/2019 - Now This News
Video: French Designer Creates Tiny Lightweight Igloos for Unhoused Folks
9/01/2019 - People Magazine
Oregon Woman Turns School Buses Into Tiny Homes for Homeless
