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County Buys Live Oak Home for Women’s Transitional Housing
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County Buys Live Oak Home for Women’s Transitional Housing
By Linda Fridy
The County Board of Supervisors voted in August to purchase and renovate a Live Oak house for homeless women who are trying to change the circumstances of their lives. The home will be leased to the Gemma Program, which supports women seeking to break the cycle of drug use and arrests.
The three-bedroom home, located at 522 Capitola Road Extension, was designated as affordable housing under the Measure J Preservation Program. It is one of about 400 properties throughout the County that the Redevelopment Agency monitors for sale to low-income residents, according to Housing Project Manager Julie Conway. When it was slated for foreclosure, the County Redevelopment Agency recommended it for use by Gemma.
“It was going to be lost to the inventory. Any affordable housing is a rare and valuable asset, so our office stepped in,” Conway said. “Simultaneously, our section was asked to work with Gemma … to provide housing to women who have been involved in their program and are coming out of jail. The timing is serendipitous.”
“It’s ideal,” said Gemma Program Director Susan Greene about the home and location. “We feel really fortunate to have the support of the Board of Supervisors and the Redevelopment Agency in working really hard on this with us. It’s been a great collaboration.”
Supervisors allotted $414,799 to buy the property and renovate it to meet Gemma’s needs.
Some Remodeling Ahead
The major change will be converting a garage into housing for the on-site housing manager. Other plans include adding bathroom sinks, expanding the kitchen, and enclosing a space to use for counseling. The Redevelopment Agency has already begun meeting with architects, with a March 2007 occupancy goal.
The house can accommodate up to six women released from the County-operated Blaine Street women’s jail. Participants must first complete a nine-week program at Blaine Street and be homeless at the time of their release.
The initial program will help identify those prisoners who are serious about making changes.
“The women will get to see if this is the right place for them to be at this point in their lives,” Greene said.
Greene emphasized that Blaine Street is a minimum security facility and that all the women are non-violent offenders. Yet without somewhere to live, they are more likely to return to their former way of life, she said.
“Safe housing is really invaluable to be able to change their lifestyle and accomplish their goals,” Greene noted.
The women will continue to get relapse prevention counseling as well as job training and basic education instruction while living at the home. Residents can stay from six to 18 months.
“I expect that over time we won’t be able to meet the demand,” Greene said.
Location a Match for Now
The home’s size and location near a bus route made it a good match for Gemma’s needs. The program’s participants meet affordable housing requirements, allowing the Redevelopment Agency to purchase the property for this use.
“It’s exciting how things are falling into place,” said Gemma’s Greene.
Gemma is a new nonprofit program partnered with the Community Action Board.
A former inmate came up with the idea as part of an adult education project. In addition to the home purchase, the County signed a $200,000 contract for the program’s start-up costs.
Once the Gemma Program is established, RDA’s Conway anticipates that it will eventually move to another location.
“In the long run the house will be resold to another low-income family,” she said. “[This purchase] permanently protects an affordable housing resource and helps an emerging nonprofit program.”
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