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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 July 2020, we're housing over 150 people at 48 locations
throughout Chico!
The need for low-cost housing in Chico and Butte County continues to exceed availability. We receive requests for housing almost daily that we cannot meet.
With your help we could do so much more! Find ways to donate, or volunteer with us.
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We are actively in search of property of an acre or more for our tiny homes village!
If you know of some available property in the Chico area please contact
our Executive Administrator Leslie Johnson at 530-518-9992.
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CHAT's mission is to ensure that everyone in our community has access to housing they can afford.
What we do:
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We provide rental housing through master-leasing to low-income residents at no more than 30% of their income, via referrals from local shelters.
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We provide residents with access to supportive services, community resources, and mentoring.
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We provide maintenance for all properties we rent.
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We develop plans for visionary alternative housing projects.
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We are funded from grassroots donations and from grants from corporations, foundations, and public agencies.
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See our overview of our current housing programs for more details.
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Spring 2020 CHAT News Update Video!
May 5, 2020: CHAT co-founder and board member Bob Trausch talks our search for new land for our tiny homes village after the lawsuit that ended the project location at Notre Dame Blvd. Bob also talks about our latest program for CampFire survivors who need housing, and our new student housing program with Chico State University. (Video by Respectful Revolution)
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.
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CHAT'S HOUSING PROGRAMS
HOUSING NOW
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Our main program where we master-lease houses and apartments from property owners and sub-let to individuals and families
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We provide supportive services like food deliveries, rides to doctors, connections with service providers
HUSH
Hand Up Supportive Housing: Subsidized housing with social services for families through state HEAP grant
CHAMP
Campfire Housing Access Model Program - a grant-funded landlord incentive program to help Camp Fire survivors get into rental housing
Redwood Housing
Working with Chico State University to find affordable housing for CSU students
Tiny Home Villages
Potentially the most affordable and most secure option for the most people in the least amount of time
In The News
Articles About CHAT, Housing & Homelessness in Butte County & California, and Tiny Homes for the Unhoused
6/18/2020 - Los Angeles Times
Under Pressure, LA Agrees to Provide 6000 New Beds to Clear Homeless Camps Under Freeways
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6/17/2020 - Reasons To Be Cheerful
Seattle's Tiny Houses Keep the Virus Out
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5/12/2020 - Chico Enterprise-Record
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4/07/2020 - Action News Now
Torres Shelter Moves 40 Individuals Into Hotel Rooms Amid Coronavirus Crisis
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4/07/2020 - Western Center on Law and Poverty
California Courts Issue Emergency Rules Halting Almost All Evictions in California
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4/03/2020 - Chico Enterprise-Record
Meet Joy Amaro, Chico 's New Homeless Solutions Coordinator During the Coronavirus Pandemic
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3/17/2020 - San Francisco Chronicle
Coronoavirus and Homelessness: SF wants to house people in schools, churches
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3/03/2020 - Chico Enterprise-Record
Chico State Researchers Reveal Reality of Student Homelessness
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2/27/2020 - Chico Enterprise-Record
New Affordable Housing Solutions Needed Quickly in Chico
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2/24/2020 - Seattle Times
Olympia Made Homeless Camping Legal in One Parking. A Year Later, Did It Work?
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2/22/2020 - Chico Enterprise-Record
Free ADU Designs Available in Chico By Summer
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2/18/2020 - The Stranger
Seattle City Council Votes to Allow Forty Transitional Encampments
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2/13/2020 - Chico Enterprise-Record
Homeless Seniors Find Little Help Available
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1/29/2020 - Scoop.me
Finland Ends Homelessness and Provides Shelter For All Who Need A Roof For Everyone
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CHAT folks are working every day to get people housed!
