The History of CHAT

CHAT started in 2013 with conversations initiated by the late Dan Everhart, then president of the Chico Peace & Justice Center, about homelessness in Chico. Dan had been attending various community meetings about the issue, and he felt that not enough was being done to help those suffering unhoused. We began talking about possible approaches to creating more housing opportunities. Within a few weeks, concerned about a serious cold spell about to hit Chico, CHAT opened an emergency winter shelter for several days at the Peace & Justice Center, and then for another week in the Jesus Center dining room. That evolved into Safe Space Winter Shelter program, rotating through various churches.

 

In 2015, still operating entirely as an unfunded, volunteer run program, CHAT opened its first rental house, renting out bedrooms to people who were homeless and willing to share housing. The following year, CHAT rented a second house . This was the start of our Housing Now program. Since then, we have added many programs to aid different categories of people in need, including Harmony House (for people with mental illness), HUSH (for families with children), CHAMP (for fire survivors), Redwood Housing (for students), Mercy Houses (for people with health issues), and housing for veterans.

 

We are currently developing a sleeping-cabins shelter called Everhart Village for Butte County Behavioral Health clients, as well as a special housing program within the "Housing Now" umbrella for Butte College students, and our new Wildflower housing program. We invite you to read about each of them and the residents who've found stability and hope through these programs. All of these programs were made possible through support from donors, community and international organizations, government and private grants, and contributions of furniture, food, household supplies, and most importantly, countless volunteer work hours.