OROVILLE — A dream of safe parking spaces and additional shelter beds will soon be reality for Oroville Rescue Mission’s shelter project, Esperanza Village — a 105-bed expansion formerly named Mission Esperanza.
The project has been in the works for four years, and will effectively more than double the current size of the Mission in employees and guests once complete, according to CEO Allen Dikes.
In preparing for the scale shift, Dikes said in an interview Friday the Mission has already been conducting outreach to connect with unhoused people in the community, so that when people move in, they are already familiar with the process.
“The goal isn’t just to get them off the streets; the goal is to give them complete wraparound services and be able to equip them and empower them for permanent housing,” Dikes said.
Suzi Kochems, a consultant with Silk Consulting Group who works with the city on the Mission’s grants, said at Tuesday’s Oroville City Council meeting that construction begins this month with plans for a soft opening in December and full opening in January.
Kochems said the Mission plans to concentrate its outreach efforts on bringing people to shelter in November in all areas of the city, and set a goal to permanently house five people by December.
Dikes said he’s concerned how the project will unfold because it hasn’t been done before, but that he looks forward to meet needs of people without homes with the city.
“My biggest fear is that we’re going to fill up really fast, and then we’re going to be bottled up again,” Dikes said.
Dikes said the Mission was over capacity on Friday serving about 75 people. The project, once complete, will bring an additional 105 beds, including 30 double bed microshelters by the manufacturer Pallet; five ADA single bed microshelters; and 40 congregate beds — 20 for men and 20 for women.
Safe parking spaces and safe campsites are planned, according to Dikes, but the final count has not been determined.
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Dikes said his staff grew from 10 to 15 as the project has come along so far, and that 10 more positions are budgeted for the expansion.
Kochems said Tuesday that a lot is being done behind the scenes to make sure the project is sustainably funded after construction, like leveraging Medi-Cal billing in a 5-year pilot with the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal program — an estimated revenue of $1.3 million per year at full capacity.
Kochems said the rescue mission is registered as a Enhanced Care Management and Community Supports provider, and can now bill Medi-Cal for revenue.
“Building capacity is essential but we have to be able to sustain it,” Kochems said.
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