In early August, a small encampment of homeless who were living in the Santa Clarita wash were approached by two officials.  After a brief exchange, the officials told them they had 48 hours to vacate the wash and get out of town.

This raises a number of questions which boils down to this:

Where are our homeless supposed to go when the Bridge to Home shelter is closed for eight months out of the year?

What can we do to extend the overnight services of the Bridge to Home emergency shelter beyond the 120 days it is currently open – providing a clean, safe place for our brothers and sisters down on their luck to sleep as they work to get back on their feet?

Michael, the homeless man who reported this incident, is a thriving member of our homeless community.  He helps set up and clean up the local meetings he attends.  He volunteers at the Bridge to Home free dental care days, and he does the same every day he stays at Bridge to Home in the winter months.  Michael, like others in his position is a contributing member of our local community, despite the fact that he is homeless; indeed many have regular jobs that just don’t pay enough, or pay steadily enough to help them pay rent.

So what can you do?

Become a FRIEND of Bridge to Home and help support our fundraising effort to extend the service days offered by Bridge to Home, to 365 days year round.  You can make a difference for as little as $10 a month.

As a post script to the original story, we should point out that Bridge to Home had a very productive and positive exchange with the city in the wake of this event; and came up with a cooperative plan for the future.  When there becomes a need for the homeless to move to a different area of Santa Clarita (and not leave town by the way), a Bridge to Home representative will accompany a city team, to keep the channels of communication open, and present all the alternatives to our homeless neighbors.