Oceanside Woman Runs And Funds A Motel Shelter For The Homeless

Speaker 1: 00:00 Individual community members are stepping up to create resources to help the growing homeless community KPBS north county reported Tonya thorn tells us about one individual running and funding, a shelter out of a motel in Carlsbad, Speaker 2: 00:16 Vanessa Graziano didn't expect to be running a homeless shelter. She starts each day at the Carlsbad village in motel where one of the room serves as an intake office. Here, coffee is served daily and meals are planned and we have, Speaker 3: 00:29 Um, dinner being provided from Jewish collaborative services. They can do it every Monday and they've been doing it for like six months. This Speaker 2: 00:35 Is also where she meets the people who are staying at the shelter to talk about what's going on in their lives, Speaker 3: 00:41 Depending on what they need. Everyone's unique, right? We just find out who they are. I get to know them, their story. Speaker 2: 00:47 This all started last year at when Graziano who had once been homeless herself, decided to pay for a motel for a family in need. That act of kindness grew into what is now the Oceanside homeless resource. Speaker 3: 00:58 When the COVID hit, we realized we needed to create some kind of shelter and also food service. So I came together with a few people out there and we started this emergency COVID shelter, which absolutely grew the Speaker 2: 01:08 One motel room grew to 15 rooms. The now house 35 people, including 14 children Speaker 3: 01:14 And all the people here are absolute moving forward. Generally Speaker 2: 01:17 Graziano was operating out of an Oceanside motel because forced her to look for a cheaper option. Landing her in Carlsbad every day at Graziano jumps on social media to ask for donations, to keep the shelter running well over the Speaker 3: 01:28 Last year, we probably raised over a quarter million dollars and it's just through me, private funding, um, different churches, local that have come on board. Um, we've had a few grants here and there, um, from private organizations, but honestly, it's, you know, after $8,000 a day to keep everyone here safe. Speaker 2: 01:45 And sure enough Baron has been at the motel shelter for a couple of weeks after being homeless for two years, she needed stability. Speaker 4: 01:52 When you're on, when you're on the streets, you can't be stable. I mean, really you can't. They kick you out. I was sleeping on the benches over at the Harbor. They kick you out. I was sleeping on the ground. They got kicked out over there that you can't. Speaker 2: 02:03 The motel has given Baron a semi-permanent address that helped her get a job. She started last week, Deseret young as another shelter resident, just starting a new job. She and her family are going into their third month at Graziano shelter. They also needed stability and an address to get her children enrolled into school. Speaker 4: 02:21 Oh, it's hard to get a job or even put them into a school where they have to be going. When you move around, Speaker 2: 02:26 Graziano says she listens to what our clients need, but there are rules. They have to follow. Speaker 3: 02:30 It is a come as you are program, but we are very, um, like if you're on drugs, you know, we really want you to understand you can be here safe, but we're going to get you into detox and recovery because that is the next Speaker 2: 02:41 Step. Profit has been able to move 38 clients into permanent housing. Graziano also connects our clients with resources like county caseworkers and healthcare. She also arranges employment assistance and transit passes to get them to their new jobs. Speaker 5: 02:56 Gold groups, art groups are important because it is it's. It's people, it's individuals in the community saying, you know what I want to do. I want to do something more in my community. There's just not enough resources. Speaker 2: 03:08 Miranda Chavez is a director of integrative services at the community resource center. In Encinitas. They work with different grassroots organizations like Graziano Chopra says smaller organizations can fill needs that large ones. Can't Speaker 5: 03:21 I think the larger an organization is, and the more involved government is people are wary of it. Speaker 2: 03:32 [inaudible] says her clients trust her because she's been homeless. Speaker 3: 03:35 I had lived, you know, pretty successful life and marriage and I got divorced and then I stumbled onto drugs. And so being able to come on the other side of it and being, having that lived experience, I do believe my voice is valuable and credible today. Speaker 2: 03:49 Latino says she's been clean for six years. Her goal is to create a cottage community where her clients can learn job skills to prepare them to live on their own. Speaker 1: 03:57 Joining me is KPBS north county reporter, Tonya Thorne and Tanya. Welcome. Speaker 6: 04:03 Thank you, Maureen. Speaker 1: 04:05 Is this really a one-woman operation? Does Vanessa have any help in running her homeless shelter? Speaker 6: 04:12 Yes and no. You know, Vanessa does run the shelter on her own. She started it. She raises money for it and she's the organizer, but she does work with established resources and agencies to get her clients to help. They need to get them back on their feet. So whether that's rental assistance, substance abuse, help, or even having to go and get an ID card or a driver's license. So she, you know, she helps with all those means that her clients need, she Speaker 1: 04:38 Has to raise a thousand dollars a day to keep the shelter operation going. Does she get any money from Oceanside or the county? Speaker 6: 04:47 You know, this is something that really stuck out to me in the story. I mean, I see her on social media and every day she's asking for private donations and I mean, she's so grateful, even if it's a $5, $10 donation, because at the end of the day, it does make a difference. That could be a meal, right? And so Vanessa told me she has received larger donations and was actually expecting a $65,000 grant from the city of Oceanside. But unfortunately it was recently rescinded. And you know, I've learned that the thing with grants is that you have to follow certain rules and meet specific requirements. And if one thing is out of place, there goes your grant approval. So, you know, it's tough for these smaller grassroots organizations to get large grant funding like that one without having to change, you know, in order to meet the needs of the financers, like the city of Oceanside Speaker 1: 05:39 And Vanessa Graziano couldn't even keep her Oceanside homeless, nonprofit in ocean side because it became too expensive. Speaker 6: 05:48 Yeah. You know, I mean, the organization is called the Oceanside homeless resource, but it's currently operating out of a Carlsbad motel, you know, and, and she chose the name originally because all the people she was helping were homeless in Oceanside and they were operating out of the Oceanside travel lodge, you know, but like many businesses, the motel needed to make up some of that money loss during COVID. So they had to bump up their rates and this is what ultimately got them into Carlsbad. But she did tell me that they are exploring options to return to Oceanside. You Speaker 1: 06:19 Know, it's interesting that both of the people that you spoke with who were staying at the shelter, talk about having to move around and being kicked out of places while they were homeless in Oceanside Oceanside just recently dismantled homeless encampments and put boulders up. So they couldn't be reoccupied. Why did that happen? Speaker 6: 06:41 Yeah, Cameron, Scott dismantled and replaced with rocks because they were growing. And, you know, with that growth comes safety concerns for everyone, the people living in the encampments, the nearby businesses and the residents of the city, and just nearby, there were complaints from local businesses that the encampments were scaring clients away. You know, they were scared to go and eat at the establishments when they see all these tents propped up, you know, at the storefront. And police also said that they had found drugs and weapons and that they were called out several times to the encampments for calls of violence. So it was definitely a safety concern just for everyone around. Speaker 1: 07:19 Is there any city funded, homeless shelter in Oceanside, Speaker 6: 07:23 Something the city of Oceanside is working on, especially now when the, when the two new beach side resorts just opened up in a downtown area and more tourists are getting lured in, they have no homeless shelter open for the general homeless population. One that accepts men and women, families, maybe just that takes everyone in. They used to have bread of life, but their beds were always full. And they recently shut down their shelter portion and were actually taken over by the San Diego rescue mission. And I think they're also trying to work on something, but there is a shelter coming and tonight actually the city council will be voting. If interfaith community services gets that contract. Now Speaker 1: 08:02 The city of San Diego just started a new outreach program to the unsheltered, homeless, that aims to build the kind of trust that can get people into programs to get them off the streets. Have Oceanside's leaders been talking about anything like that? Speaker 6: 08:19 They're trying, right. I mean, the shelter will be a huge help, but it will not solve homelessness. When people were uprooted from the homeless encampments, they were offered motel vouchers. But I have heard that, that wasn't very successful. Most of the people that received the vouchers are back on the streets and it goes with all of the rules that need to be followed to keep those vouchers. I think an advisory board could help because what I learned through my reporting is that each person who is living on the streets has unique needs one per one program or shelter does not fit everyone. That's on the streets. Speaker 1: 08:54 If ocean side move forward. As you say, in establishing a shelter for the homeless, any word that the city may also reconsider funding for Vanessa's homeless shelter. Speaker 6: 09:06 Well, Vanessa was actually one of the applicants for the homeless shelter among other organizations. I think funding is out there for organizations like Vanessa is, but again, that funding comes with rules and regulations, meaning some things may need to change. Interfaith has been chosen to run the shelter over all the other applicants because they have already been established throughout north county and they just have a really good track record. So, you know, we'll see if they get, if they get the contract tonight. All right. Speaker 1: 09:33 We'll keep an eye on that. I've been, I've been speaking with KPBS north county reporter, Tanya thorn, Tanya. Thank you. Thank you, Maureen.