On Sunday, September 28, parishioners and neighbors of Christ Episcopal Church (CEC) at 1700 Santa Clara Avenue met to discuss extending the operating time of the Alameda Warming Shelter, as proposed by the City of Alameda. CEC serves as the primary host site for the shelter, which previously has operated from December through March. Under the new proposal, the shelter would continue to open on December 1, but would remain open until the end of April.
Rev. Stephen McHale led the meeting. He was joined by Chris Callandrillo, Chief Program Officer of San Francisco’s Episcopal Community Services (ECS). ECS manages the shelter, and provides staffing. Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft also addressed the meeting.
In addition to hosting duties, CEC has historically provided about 30% of the shelter’s operating budget, as well as sourcing meals for shelter guests from a network of volunteers. CEC also provides showers, and is in the process of installing laundry facilities. Two other churches in Alameda rotate as host sites—Trinity Lutheran hosts over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, while New Bridges United Methodist (formerly Twin Towers UMC) hosts for part of February.
The budget for five months of ECS services for the shelter is $360,000. Of that, the City would provide $230,000, with the county adding $60,000 and CEC accounting for $70,000. The City is also committing money for case workers, along with hotel vouchers for those individuals who are unable to live in a group setting.
The space used for the shelter is CEC’s Fellowship Hall, a multipurpose space that is also used by the church, as well as the onsite preschool. Therefore, guests must vacate by 7 a.m. each day and can return when the doors reopen at 6 p.m. Many of the guests spend their daytime hours at The Village of Love on Alameda Point, but changes are coming to that facility, with the City recently having issued a request for proposal for a new service provider.
In her remarks, Mayor Ashcraft expressed her thanks to CEC, volunteers, and the community at large for the work done to keep the shelter operational. Attendees were unanimously in favor of extending the shelter by a month. A vote was taken, and that recommendation will be passed along to the Vestry, which is the governing body of CEC. Vestry approval is expected.
Scott Piehler hosts and produces Alameda’s only weekly news digest podcast, the Alameda PostCast. Reach him at [email protected]. In addition to his work with the Alameda Post, Scott Piehler serves as a Vestry board member at CEC.
