December 3, 2025 • 46 mins
Heart of Davis is a volunteer run program that manages Safe Parking for people living in their vehicles who need a safe, legal place to sleep overnight. Andrew Waterhouse & Kary Shender help ensure that the program provides secure, monitored parking spaces & that each participant is treated with respect & dignity. Research, partnerships & volunteers make Safe Parking possible, a compassionate temporary solution to bridge the gap to more stable housing & other resources. Hear its evolving vision!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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(00:20):
for choosing W FOURCY Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Hello, and welcome to It's Your Voice, this show that
hosts enriching coversations in diversity. My name is bihia Ya Sign.
I am your host and I am a core alignment
coach and a diversity educator. I coach or organizations and
individuals and practices that build habits of stepping out of
patterns that don't serve us to patterns that do serve service,
(01:19):
and lead trainings that help us recognize our biases and
how to create new patterns that are far more inclusive.
If you're interested in looking at anything I offer as
a coach or an educator, you can go to my
website which is found at Know what you Want Coaching
dot WordPress dot com and it is my pleasure to
(01:41):
welcome to guests tonight who are doing what I consider
very powerful, amazing work that has deep meaning. And the
title of this show is Love Your Neighbor, A Welcoming
place to sleep. My guests are Andrew Waterhouse and Carrie Shinder.
(02:01):
Andrew has volunteered with groups in Davis, California to help
support the Homers for about fifteen years. He helped plan
the Safe Heart Safe Parking effort, which were a will
describe well for us tonight, and as part of the
management team, he also helps provide neighbor aid with St.
Vincent de Paul and Davis and Carrie. Carrie Shinder moved
(02:25):
to Davis about seventeen years ago from Salinas in Monteree County,
and her commitment is to marginalize people, whether it's due
to language barriers or reduce financial resources or disabilities, and
her teaching and workshop leadership experience has helped to learn
as much from students as she has been able to share.
Andrew and Carrie, thank you so much for being here
(02:47):
tonight do for oursting us.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
It's great.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
Thank you pleasure to be here.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Well, I was so impressed that when I saw and
they can't even remember where it was the heart of
Davis Safe Parking, Safe Sleeping program, and I was like,
I need to find out who's behind that and ask
them to tell us. So if you want to start
by giving us maybe background and context, that would be wonderful.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Oh. I think one of the things I think many
people don't realize is that everyone knows there's a lot
of homelessness today and it's very unfortunate. And we're not
going to get into the causes of that. It would
take several other programs, but you know, basically, for many people,
the rents are high and there's very few low income
(03:39):
mental units in Davis. But it turns out that many
people who don't have a home actually do have a car,
and they actually live in the car and try to
find a place to park it during the night to sleep.
And that's problematic because many places don't allow you to
park in their parking lot overnight, and if you're parking
(04:01):
in front of somebody's home, often they get concerned. They
don't know who that is and either there and they
all the local authorities and so if you're living in
your car overnight in just someplace in Davis or elsewhere,
often you get disturbed. Somebody comes by and says what
are you doing here? Or why are you here? And
(04:21):
gove along, and so it's difficult, and so you're you're
not sleeping well, and you're worried about what's going to happen.
Who's going to bother you, disturb you, and so on.
So we talk to some folks in town and one
of them suggested that, you know, a safe parking program
would be an asset for Davis, would be helped to
(04:43):
these folks, and it turns out there's quite a few
across California. I wann't say anything about it.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
Sure, well, it looks like an easy thing because you're
providing some parking spaces in a lot that we choose
to keep quiet because there have been some instances where
it became kind of a free for all years ago
(05:13):
before our programs. So we have spent over a year
looking at other programs. One notable one is in Santa
Barbara and they have many parking lots, including county parking
lots and parking lots at malls, but they only have
a few people at each one and the reason for
(05:35):
that is so that it does not attract that the
presence of the parkers does not in the end attract
people who would think, oh, it's a party place, you know,
so it's quiet, it's it's under the radar. And it
took us over a year to get everything worked out,
(05:56):
which included getting parking permits the city, spending time with
the Chief of police, and talking through a bunch of
what ifs, and doing a lot of research about other
programs and how they operate, what they do. That resulted
(06:19):
in our developing a code of conduct for both the
people who are volunteers greeting people and I'll let Handy
speak more about that, and also a code of conduct
for the people who are entering into the parking agreement
with us. So it looks super simple on the surface,
(06:45):
but actually in order to have this work well and
to be an honest program and to be a program
that truly serves people, there was a lot of work
that went into the preparation before we began, Andy, do
you want to share more about the actual structure and
(07:05):
some of those kinds of things.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Sure. So the outline of the program is that part
of Davis manages it and we have a cooperative cooperator
in a local church. So the folks in the church,
we have an MoU with them allows us to use
their lot at night for five people. That's the limit,
(07:30):
and that's part of the permit from the city is
there's a limit of five. And over time several people
from that church got very involved and so now we
have sort of a management team that runs things. And
it turns out there are things that come up almost
every day. We interview the folks who are interested and
(07:51):
screen them, and then once they're allowed in to get
a parking permit, they come at seven o'clock in the
evening and we have volunteers greet them, provide them with
drinks and snacks about an hour, and then everyone has
to get in their car, and they don't have to
stay in the car, they do have to be quiet,
and then the volunteers leave and we have sometimes have
(08:17):
somebody come by in the middle of the night to
check on things. We've never really found a problem. And
then at seven the next morning, a new set of
volunteers show up. They again provide some drinks and snacks.
Coffee is very important. Hot coffee is very important during
the winter. And then about eight o'clock everyone has to
pack up and head off because the parkers are not
(08:40):
allowed to stay there over during the day. They have
to be somewhere else and then we start the next evening.
So that's the basic outline of what actually happened. The
other things that we have to worry about is we
have we have to notify the neighbors and so on,
and we you know, we didn't have any pushback from
(09:01):
the neighbors. One of the neighbors said, gee, that's really
nice you're doing that. How can I help?
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Wonderful?
Speaker 3 (09:07):
I guess that's Davis, And uh oh. The other thing is, yes,
we have a porta potty which is a very essential
facility for the folks spending the night there, and that's
and so that has to be maintained and so on.
And so that's the basic outline of how things work.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Well, do you do people volunteer to provide the drinks
and food?
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Like?
Speaker 2 (09:33):
How are the supplies covered?
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Oh? Okay, so hearted Davis has we basically have a
budget that helps manage this thing. So one of the
expenses is the port of potty, which I already mentioned,
and that turns out to be fairly expensive. We have
a paid volunteer who interviews all the candidates and he
has experience working with marginalized folks, so he has some
(09:59):
skills there. And Carrie here, Actually it's quite a bit
involved in those interviews. And then we have basically hearted
Davis purchases supplies for the drinks and snacks, and one
of the volunteers does inventory every few days, and someone
else goes to various stores in the in the area
(10:19):
brings those supplies to the location. So we have, you know,
so we have lots of people involved in lots of
different ways, doing this and that and the other. So
as Carrie mentioned, there's there's there's are more moving pieces
here than you might think. I don't know. Maybe Carrie
would like to talk a little bit about importance of
the interview.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Sure, I'd love to hear it.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
I have something rough going on in my throat, so
I apologize, which is why I have a laz ande
chucked in my cheek. The interview process includes trying to
not be invasive, also getting the kind of information that
(11:04):
may be helpful to us as we work to manage
a program that is designed to reduce any kind of
stress that the person might already be experiencing. So, as
an example, if someone in talking with us says, you know,
(11:27):
I really don't like people and I just want to
come and be by myself, that does not cut that
person out of being included, but that does trigger for
us the need to explore that a little further. And
if I'm asked to call someone prior to that person
even being seen by the one person who receives a stipend,
(11:52):
my goal is to draw the person out as much
as possible, but not in a manner that would put
the person on the spot. So I typically will say
something like, tell me as much about yourself as you
really would like me to know if we are going
(12:12):
to be neighbors, and that gives that person the license
to share some things and not share some other things.
When we look at the Code of conduct, no alcohol
and no drugs are an absolute in that. And so
if someone says I'm really working on this issue, we
(12:35):
talk about that a little bit, but we really work
hard on helping the person to feel comfortable. And actually,
what we're all about, ya is that each person is
to be respected. That that is the basis for what
(12:55):
we are doing. There is an African proverb which I
happen to love, and I worked in West Africa for
quite a while as a linguist, and that is genik
navii manane gordi. And what it literally means is when
(13:16):
the eyes are crying, the nose is running or sitting
down running sitting down, it means running, though, but the
deeper meaning really gets at the heart of what we
are doing, which is when one person is hurting, everyone
is affected, and everyone is really hurting. And so this
(13:37):
is about the volunteers building understanding that they could have
been in that position, understanding at a deeper level the
humanity of each person, and not being judgmental. And so
even in the interview process from the very beginning, we
(13:58):
are working to make that at the baseline for what
it is that we're doing, that kind of respect. And
it is true that some people come to us who
are dealing with substance abuse. It's also true that some
people come to us who have had a crisis in
their lives and now they're living in their cars, some
(14:21):
kind of a financial crisis. Whatever it is, our job
is to honor that person's innate agency and as we
work with the person through the interview process, through inviting
the person to come. If that is the case, we
work to set that person up with social services that
(14:46):
will be helpful and sometimes with medical services. And it
is also true, and this is a tough part of
this issue, if someone has been kicked to the side
by society or perceives that that is what has happened,
that person may think, no, I'm not playing that game.
(15:08):
They always promise and don't come through. So that's where
our development as a program has some big challenges that
we are facing, and we need to confront those challenges
and deal with each person. Even though we have a
(15:29):
code of conduct and we have a code of conduct
for the volunteers, each person is treated in a unique
manner within those parameters because every human deserves that, and
that's what we're really working on doing. And then after
a while, once the person has been in the program,
(15:51):
and there have been people who have either chosen not
to join once they learn that there is a time
you're not supposed to be hanging out until ten am.
You are supposed to be off site and there are
reasons for that. So there have been people who said no,
not for me, I don't want to have Nope, that
sounds too pushy to me. We have to honor that
(16:15):
and say, well, should you decide that this might be
a program that would work for you, please feel free
to get in touch with us again. So we are
honoring the innate agency of the individual, but also knowing
through the experience of other programs that it's critical that
(16:38):
we establish some parameters. And if we were not to
do that, which is what happened a long while ago,
not through IRWS, not through anything with which we're affiliated,
it became kind of a free for all. So we
know that free for alls don't work, and we're trying
to create that balance. You have follow up questions, you
(16:58):
want to ask about any anything that.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Whatever.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Definitely Wow. First, I want to say I really appreciate
the compassion and respect for human dignity which you clearly
have and are demonstrating. And and then one little technical thing,
carry we're not seeing your beautiful face the entire time.
I'm just when for people who are viewing, if you
(17:26):
could scoot it like you would, I was going to
stay closer to Handy like this. Yeah that now I
can now I can see you just yes, because when
you see your lovely face anyway, I just I just
it's so intelligent, your your code of ethics, your program,
the thinking that you've spent researching for a year looking
(17:47):
at other programs to prevent problems that they were having,
and and and of course because it happens in life,
then now you're seeing there. Yet there still are some challenges.
So one of my questions is, do you because the
interviews are handled so delicately and skillfully and compassionately, do
(18:08):
you train people who want to volunteer to do the
greeting guests and interviewing gress and making that discernment or
is that just left in the hands of yourself and
a couple of other experiences people.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
I should try to answer this. We have a lot
of volunteers, and what we do is we structure it
so we try to have an experienced volunteer there, especially
when there's a new volunteer starting. So there's you know,
there's the practicalities of how to get the things going
and where the supplies are. But what I always emphasize
(18:47):
with new volunteers is we're going to be here for
about an hour. And I think what's very important is
that we listen to our guests right and try to
not be judgmental, but try to ask questions about how
are they doing, what's going on in their lives. And
I think it's important. Part of that is I feel
(19:11):
when I do this, I want them to understand that
to me, they're important. Right. Often, if you're living in
your car and whatever else is going on, you know,
you're probably not getting a lot of respect during the day.
Some of our guests that complain about the police trying
(19:31):
to get them to move on, or even if they're
parked in a public park, the police come along and say,
what are you doing here? Why are you here all afternoon?
And so on, And you know, I think it's very
important that when they come to our program, they understand
that we value who they are and we're there to
(19:52):
support them. And I guess the way Carrie puts it,
walk with them, try to help them find the resources
they need. And I think I wanted to emphasize that,
you know, we're an all volunteer team and we don't
we don't we're not trained as social workers and so on,
(20:12):
and so we strongly encourage our parkers, our guests to
connect with an agency in the county that can help
them with those issues because of the situation they're in.
Often these folks, well, first of all, they need help
getting housing right, so presumably they would like to find housing,
and so there are social service agencies that they can
(20:35):
work with will help them find housing, and that's one
of our goals, is that is to not have people
stay with us permanently, but to find a safe place
to live aside from their car. And then often they
have other needs as well. You know, some of them
have medical needs and they haven't been able to address those.
(20:57):
One of our guests, you know, seem to be getting
more and more ill for the last few weeks, and
we encouraged him to get medical help, and now he's
getting the medical help right. So we really it turns
out it's not just parking. There's more to it than that,
(21:20):
you know, because we're getting to know these folks and
find out what their issues are and then try to
help them find the resources to address those as best
we can. But again we're not a social service agency,
so we try to find options for our guests and
(21:40):
encourage them more or less pretty strongly that they find
a connection with an agency that can help them find
the resources. That's part of the deal right now.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
I would like to go back to a word that
Andy just used, which is listen. And we have I've
had several experiences where volunteers felt that it was appropriate
to provide lectures on well being or how you can
(22:14):
manage your life better or okay, sale whatever. And so
in those instances, the Parkers themselves spoke to us and said,
you know, this person is really lecturing this other person.
And even though we are not social workers, our whole
(22:35):
basis for the work that we do is to be
good listeners, not to be lecturers, and to not assume,
which then puts the person immediately into a power struggle
and it's just a very uncomfortable and inappropriate setting. So
(22:55):
there have been instances where even though the volunteers have
been instructed about listening and drawing people out but not
trying to be intrusive and all of that, there have
been a few glitches in the system. And it is
the Parkers who have brought that to our attention so
(23:18):
that we can talk with those few individuals and say
this is something that is not to happen and you
need to be thinking about it. And we've had very
serious meetings with a couple of people. So my feeling
is that that is part of our calling, is to
(23:39):
be vigilant about the parkers being honored, and if that
is being jeopardized, we do step in. So it's an
intriguing process and I think we've all learned a great
deal from it. Some of our volunteers are medical people
(24:02):
who are now in retirement. We have a person who
is a fabulous social worker with whom we consult quite
a bit, who manages a different kind of program, a
low cost housing program. And I'm personally very jealous of
(24:23):
my time, and so I'm pretty discerning about where I
place my energies. And I feel that what is happening
with Heart Safe Parking merits all the time that I
can give it because it is making a difference in
(24:44):
the lives of individuals. And now there's that adage about
thinking globally but acting locally, and I really believe that
when people connect personally with others and see the ways
in which they can be helpful but not pushy, they're
(25:07):
the The learning on the part of the volunteers is extended,
and certainly they they learn and grow as much as
as they are offering whatever kind of assistance or walking
with the person. So so we're not we're not kicking
back and say no, we have enough volunteers. We're watching
(25:29):
what is happening and continuing to talk with people.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Well, that's you made it very clear why that's so critical,
and because we are never in someone else's shoes, and
if we inadvertently, even with you know, the best intentions,
I think that we can actually help someone by telling
them how to live well, but we haven't becomes condescending.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
It should never be condescending or paternalistic. Ever, so we're
looking for any hint that that could be happening.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Well, that's fantastic quality, really seriously quality service and premonting activistity. Well, gosh,
I'm wondering a couple of things. I'm sorry, go ahead.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
That's some of the things Carrie mentioned. Uh touched on
how are things going? And I was going to comment
on what are we Is the program successful? So I think, uh,
the basic question is does this do these folks feel
safer parking overnight where you know, in our in our program,
(26:37):
and they all report that they do. Now I have
to mention that it's not perfectly quiet. It's an open church,
an open campus, they say. And occasionally does some people
wander by and that can be just you know, discouraging
or or disruptive, but it's very occasional. And uh, one
(26:59):
of the things we've found out is the local ambulance
drivers like to park in that lot and they're not
on call. So occasionally this ambulance will drive in and
park in the back, and it's a little bit disruptive
because they do turn their I mean, they're not their
emergency lights, but there, you know, their headlights are on.
They drive in and drive out, and but otherwise, you know,
(27:21):
really it has been much quieter than I mean, it's
quieter for them for sure. And anyway, I mean, with
with some minor disruptions, things have been quite quite successful
in that regard. So we're happy with that. And then
you know, the other issues are are they getting help,
(27:42):
for instance, getting housing and and that has been happening.
I think at least one of the parkers definitely. I mean,
we know got an apartment, you know where that is.
We help them get some furniture. It's interesting people havevolunteers
all jumped up and said, oh, let's help this fellow, uh,
(28:03):
you know, get get to bed, get some get it chairs,
a table, whatever he needs because you're limit in your car,
you don't have much furniture. So that was that was
it was fun to see that happen. I mean, it
was very partning to see one of our folks find
a place. And right now we've got a couple of
our parkers are talking about you know, they have applications
(28:24):
in and things might happen, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.
So that's, you know, sort of the longer goal is
to help them achieve whatever their goals are. You know,
for instance, the Santa Barbara program they have you know,
a state that one of the reasons they run the
(28:45):
program is to help their parkers find a place to live,
and they do. It is run by a social service
agency and that's they meet with everyone every month and
they said, every month several people find a place to
live and that's that's a great success. And they did.
They and we asked, well, you have a deadline, like
(29:07):
if someone doesn't find a place, you know, do you
tell them they have to move on? So, no, we
don't have a deadline. We do have one person who
comes every month and is nominally searching for a place
to live, but it has been in the program since
its inception, which is years and years. So they said,
(29:29):
the resumption is this person really loves living in their car,
is not really interested in finding any other accommodation. But anyway,
putting that aside, you know, I think we do hope
that our safe parking is a temporary solution for people
who are in their cars, and that hopefully with a
(29:50):
little more stability they can get some better sleep, they
will give them a little more time during the day
to seek some permanent housing at least that's you know.
So that is one of our goals, and we're we've
just started, so, you know, but we can point to
one c their's success and we're hoping that one or
two of our our guests will find something in the
(30:12):
next few months.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
That's very encouraging, very encouraging. And I before I ask
you other questions, there's a question from a couple of
questions from listeners reviewers. One from Benny, does your program
provide a reference if a parker can get a place?
I was going to ask that is there, do you
have a number, do you have a website. Is there
(30:34):
a way for people to contact you? And then I'll
ask the next question.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Uh, let's see. Yes, I'll have to looks and expecting
that question. Davis website. We have a website with safe
parking description on there. I have to look again and
find that Google.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Part of Davis. I.
Speaker 3 (31:00):
Yeah, I'll try to post the website there.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Okay, if you put it in the chat box, Rebel
can make a banner that can stream in case people
are seeing this. But some people might be listening, soul
say it out loud as well. But heart of Davis's website,
they've parked while you.
Speaker 3 (31:19):
I'm looking at the question. Do they are they asking
we help them? We provide a reference if they want
to apply for apartment in I believe that's actually happened
that one of the folks, one of the volunteers, actually
did invite a reference for one of our guests in
(31:40):
inter application. So if you know, partly we can do
that because we get to know these folks and after
a while you know them well enough to feel comfortable
providing some sort of reference. And often they don't have
that many other for instance, they very few of them
have professional contacts. By that kind of efforts.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
Thanks Benny for that question, and I realized you see
the questions too. There's one from Francis. Are these families
with small children? Are there some families with small.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
We have we have tried to avoid bringing children in
only because children raise all kinds of other issues. It's
safety in particular. We don't have an absolute prohibition. They
think our thinking was, you know, there are other resources
(32:34):
if you have children in the county, but if someone
came to us and they had no other alternatives, we
would consider that.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Okay, thank you.
Speaker 4 (32:44):
I also think it's important that your listeners know that
after a person has been in the program for a while,
we do another interview, and that interview is the how
is it going interview? You know, how what are you
doing about food? Are you connected with, for example, STAKE
(33:09):
short term emergency food assistance? Are you looking at some
other issues? We have a list of resources, and we
want to see whether people are following through, even those
who have had unfortunate experiences with social service agencies. It's
(33:34):
time to try those again. And so when we're doing that,
that other interview, it's not a yes you can stay,
no you can't stay interview. It's a tell us what
is happening, what is going well, where you need additional help.
And I think that's a really important aspect of letting
(33:56):
people know that we see them, we care about them,
we want we want them to do well. With respect
to the police. And this is full admission. I would
like for Heart of Davis to have a time when
(34:17):
we spend time with the police staff talking about what
it is to be a compassionate police force. And there
are compassionate individuals within the police force, but some people
go into that kind of a profession because it is
(34:38):
powerful in one small arena. And so one of my
goals for Heart of Davis is that we will be
able to do some in service training. We have a
wonderful police chief. I and some others have spent hours
talking with him. I think he is in support of that.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
It's very cool.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
And then the other little thing that I want to
share that isn't the little thing at all is one
of our goals as Heart of Davis is to have
a brick and mortar building that will serve as a
year round emergency shelter with wrap around services.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Wonderful, So this.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
Program we hope will continue, but we really want to
also continue to push the city and others in the
direction of finding land, which is the big stumbling block.
NIMBYism is a big stumbling block, and getting that funding
(35:52):
and building that building. So we're not stopping with our
current program. It is one program within the range of
a number of things that we see as needs now.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
Yay, kay, powerful. I'm so delighted that you added that
because it's so much sounds like I used to work
for Wrap Around Services in the state of Maine, and
it definitely feels it has the feeling of it like
you want continuity. That it's not just the introduction interview
(36:27):
to make sure they agree to the code of ethics
and have some safe nights sleeping. It's your care, like
you said, and you connect them to a lot of
broad array of services right now, not as a social
service agency, a group of volunteers committed with committing your
time and art and soul and relying on gosh, community goodness.
(36:54):
And that you have this vision for brick and mortar,
that you see Wrapper Services becoming more and more of
a reality. And I love that you're asking for a
meeting with the police department. That's a great idea used
to work with the police department and may again a
lot of my experiences with wrap around and also helping
(37:17):
people who were fleeing from domestic violence. We did a
lot of work with police department, attorneys, judges, doctors to
increase understanding and reduced judgmental This increased understanding of the
variables and factors so that more and more people became
involved with the wrap around vision that you have.
Speaker 3 (37:37):
That's I mean, remember I or WS history goes back
to many of the local churches and synagogue got together
and offered winter time during wintertime space for twenty five
to forty people each night between around late November until
(37:57):
March to give people a place i know, out of
the cold. The city is still doing that, but at
a very limited scale, and we're very concerned this year
that cutback so much it's going to be many people
who won't really have a place to stay. But really,
we know that there's at least a couple hundred people
(38:20):
in Davis who are you know, sleeping out of doors
or don't have a place to stay. I mean there's
various levels and categories, but you know, having ever eight
beds when it's cold is just really not enough.
Speaker 2 (38:36):
And I r WS interface rotation is that right.
Speaker 3 (38:41):
Winter rotating winter shelter. So since we couldn't run the
winter shelter when COVID hit, we ended up changing our
name to Heart of Davis. And you know it's because
we're It seemed even after pandemic uh sort of resolved
that it still wasn't going to be possible to restart
(39:02):
the rotating shelter. There was just too much concern about
which we learned, you know, from the pandemic. You know,
having let's say, thirty people together in a single space
all night has its issues which weren't so evident to
us earlier but now are. And so you know, many
(39:22):
many of the churches felt like they weren't just weren't
going to be able to organize and post that maybe
in a few years it'll become a possibility again, but
right now you haven't been able to let people behind it.
But you know, really this shouldn't be done by a
bunch of volunteers. I mean, this is the sort of
thing that city and county really should be should be
(39:47):
taken care of, right.
Speaker 2 (39:48):
So absolutely looking for that. So for people who want to,
like a friend who I just mentioned that it would
have the opportunity to speak with two said, well, do
they need blankets like to like for people who want
to donate something clean and nice and good shape and condition.
(40:10):
Is there a way for that to happen and is
it through the website Heart of Davis website?
Speaker 3 (40:15):
Yeah, I think the best would be to call. There's
a number there which you'll get. You may have to
leave a message, but we'll get back to them if
they have something they would like to donate. Other than money.
We have organized to give Parkers various things, some winter clothes,
(40:40):
and it is a problem. I mean, they're sleeping in
their car. It's cold now, and you know, so they're
all wearing multiple layers try and stay warm, and we
discussed some way to heat the cars. That turns out
that's really complicated and tricky, and so we have provided
in some cases you know, weren't winter coats and things
(41:04):
or blankets, et cetera. But yeah, it's it's it's you know,
I I do most of my volunteer work in the morning,
and uh, you know, they come in and you know,
their hands are red from the cold. It's it's not fun,
but at least they're feeling a little safer than they're
So that's where we are.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
And the connection to you, the human connection with other humans,
it's so critical.
Speaker 3 (41:31):
You know, I mean, you know, thinking about this sometimes
it feels like, really, we've were this is the best
we can do. Uh, you know, you sort of feel like, really, uh,
why can't we get these people some decent place to live?
It's so frustrating, it's extremely frus and this is sort
(41:52):
of where we are, and this is we're providing something
and people and they appreciate it. These these people do
use every day. That's glad we're there. Sometimes you feel like, gosh,
can't we get these people a decent place to live?
Speaker 2 (42:08):
Sorry?
Speaker 4 (42:09):
And it can happen. There has to be a political will,
absolutely and the civic will, and then it can happen.
And even with all of the federal cuts, there are funds.
But the biggest stumbling block is getting the land, and that,
(42:32):
as I'm sure you are aware, has been resolved in
several neighboring pueblos and several neighboring towns in various ways.
And Davis needs to look squarely at how we can
do this. I know it didn't happen.
Speaker 2 (42:53):
I love that Davis needs to look squarely on how
we can do this, the political will and the civil will.
We can find the land and more can be done.
My gosh, we have about a minute and a half left.
You know what you've already said is just beautiful and powerful.
But do you have anything to add for closing thoughts and.
Speaker 3 (43:18):
Amazing you want me to I think I just said
I think we should. I when I started, I was
volunteering in the evening, and I found it difficult to
leave because here I'm going home to a nice, warmhouse
or a cool house in the summer and leaving these
(43:38):
folks behind in their car. I felt bad. I still
feel like I wish we could do more. And to
go back to Carrie's point, I think that's really the
concluding comment, as we really should as a town, as
a county really should have some way to help folks
have a place, a decent place to live. That's our
long term goal, and the safe parking is one step
(44:00):
in that direction.
Speaker 2 (44:01):
Beautiful. Thank I can thank you enough for what you do.
I really appreciate your sharing where you're at, what you're
getting done. What else can happen and needs to happen.
Thank you both so much, Andy and Carrey, and we'll
have to have you back again to help reflect the progress.
Speaker 4 (44:18):
When we come back to talk about progress, we may
tell you about other sites that have been opened, so
that is something that is possible. We want to keep
each site very small, but that as we work through
these months that are essentially our startup months, we're starting
(44:39):
our seventh now, we will be looking at other sites
as possibilities. So yeah, it would be fun to come back.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
Wonderful and anybody who is listening or watching check out
part of Davis Go Daddy sites dot com. And again
thanks to Andy and Carrey, love your magnificent hearts. Thank
you so much for what you're doing. And I also
want to thank the listeners and viewers and people who
sent in questions and anyone else who can help build
(45:10):
the civic political will. And I want to thank Rebel,
our engineer, our producer, Dean Piper, and be sure to
tune in next Wednesday at eight pm Eastern time or
it's your voice on Talk four TV or W four
c Y dot com and maybe all have enriching conversations
and diversity this week. Thank you again
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(00:20):
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Speaker 2 (00:55):
Hello, and welcome to It's Your Voice, this show that
hosts enriching coversations in diversity. My name is bihia Ya Sign.
I am your host and I am a core alignment
coach and a diversity educator. I coach or organizations and
individuals and practices that build habits of stepping out of
patterns that don't serve us to patterns that do serve service,
(01:19):
and lead trainings that help us recognize our biases and
how to create new patterns that are far more inclusive.
If you're interested in looking at anything I offer as
a coach or an educator, you can go to my
website which is found at Know what you Want Coaching
dot WordPress dot com and it is my pleasure to
(01:41):
welcome to guests tonight who are doing what I consider
very powerful, amazing work that has deep meaning. And the
title of this show is Love Your Neighbor, A Welcoming
place to sleep. My guests are Andrew Waterhouse and Carrie Shinder.
(02:01):
Andrew has volunteered with groups in Davis, California to help
support the Homers for about fifteen years. He helped plan
the Safe Heart Safe Parking effort, which were a will
describe well for us tonight, and as part of the
management team, he also helps provide neighbor aid with St.
Vincent de Paul and Davis and Carrie. Carrie Shinder moved
(02:25):
to Davis about seventeen years ago from Salinas in Monteree County,
and her commitment is to marginalize people, whether it's due
to language barriers or reduce financial resources or disabilities, and
her teaching and workshop leadership experience has helped to learn
as much from students as she has been able to share.
Andrew and Carrie, thank you so much for being here
(02:47):
tonight do for oursting us.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
It's great.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
Thank you pleasure to be here.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Well, I was so impressed that when I saw and
they can't even remember where it was the heart of
Davis Safe Parking, Safe Sleeping program, and I was like,
I need to find out who's behind that and ask
them to tell us. So if you want to start
by giving us maybe background and context, that would be wonderful.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Oh. I think one of the things I think many
people don't realize is that everyone knows there's a lot
of homelessness today and it's very unfortunate. And we're not
going to get into the causes of that. It would
take several other programs, but you know, basically, for many people,
the rents are high and there's very few low income
(03:39):
mental units in Davis. But it turns out that many
people who don't have a home actually do have a car,
and they actually live in the car and try to
find a place to park it during the night to sleep.
And that's problematic because many places don't allow you to
park in their parking lot overnight, and if you're parking
(04:01):
in front of somebody's home, often they get concerned. They
don't know who that is and either there and they
all the local authorities and so if you're living in
your car overnight in just someplace in Davis or elsewhere,
often you get disturbed. Somebody comes by and says what
are you doing here? Or why are you here? And
(04:21):
gove along, and so it's difficult, and so you're you're
not sleeping well, and you're worried about what's going to happen.
Who's going to bother you, disturb you, and so on.
So we talk to some folks in town and one
of them suggested that, you know, a safe parking program
would be an asset for Davis, would be helped to
(04:43):
these folks, and it turns out there's quite a few
across California. I wann't say anything about it.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
Sure, well, it looks like an easy thing because you're
providing some parking spaces in a lot that we choose
to keep quiet because there have been some instances where
it became kind of a free for all years ago
(05:13):
before our programs. So we have spent over a year
looking at other programs. One notable one is in Santa
Barbara and they have many parking lots, including county parking
lots and parking lots at malls, but they only have
a few people at each one and the reason for
(05:35):
that is so that it does not attract that the
presence of the parkers does not in the end attract
people who would think, oh, it's a party place, you know,
so it's quiet, it's it's under the radar. And it
took us over a year to get everything worked out,
(05:56):
which included getting parking permits the city, spending time with
the Chief of police, and talking through a bunch of
what ifs, and doing a lot of research about other
programs and how they operate, what they do. That resulted
(06:19):
in our developing a code of conduct for both the
people who are volunteers greeting people and I'll let Handy
speak more about that, and also a code of conduct
for the people who are entering into the parking agreement
with us. So it looks super simple on the surface,
(06:45):
but actually in order to have this work well and
to be an honest program and to be a program
that truly serves people, there was a lot of work
that went into the preparation before we began, Andy, do
you want to share more about the actual structure and
(07:05):
some of those kinds of things.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Sure. So the outline of the program is that part
of Davis manages it and we have a cooperative cooperator
in a local church. So the folks in the church,
we have an MoU with them allows us to use
their lot at night for five people. That's the limit,
(07:30):
and that's part of the permit from the city is
there's a limit of five. And over time several people
from that church got very involved and so now we
have sort of a management team that runs things. And
it turns out there are things that come up almost
every day. We interview the folks who are interested and
(07:51):
screen them, and then once they're allowed in to get
a parking permit, they come at seven o'clock in the
evening and we have volunteers greet them, provide them with
drinks and snacks about an hour, and then everyone has
to get in their car, and they don't have to
stay in the car, they do have to be quiet,
and then the volunteers leave and we have sometimes have
(08:17):
somebody come by in the middle of the night to
check on things. We've never really found a problem. And
then at seven the next morning, a new set of
volunteers show up. They again provide some drinks and snacks.
Coffee is very important. Hot coffee is very important during
the winter. And then about eight o'clock everyone has to
pack up and head off because the parkers are not
(08:40):
allowed to stay there over during the day. They have
to be somewhere else and then we start the next evening.
So that's the basic outline of what actually happened. The
other things that we have to worry about is we
have we have to notify the neighbors and so on,
and we you know, we didn't have any pushback from
(09:01):
the neighbors. One of the neighbors said, gee, that's really
nice you're doing that. How can I help?
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Wonderful?
Speaker 3 (09:07):
I guess that's Davis, And uh oh. The other thing is, yes,
we have a porta potty which is a very essential
facility for the folks spending the night there, and that's
and so that has to be maintained and so on.
And so that's the basic outline of how things work.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Well, do you do people volunteer to provide the drinks
and food?
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Like?
Speaker 2 (09:33):
How are the supplies covered?
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Oh? Okay, so hearted Davis has we basically have a
budget that helps manage this thing. So one of the
expenses is the port of potty, which I already mentioned,
and that turns out to be fairly expensive. We have
a paid volunteer who interviews all the candidates and he
has experience working with marginalized folks, so he has some
(09:59):
skills there. And Carrie here, Actually it's quite a bit
involved in those interviews. And then we have basically hearted
Davis purchases supplies for the drinks and snacks, and one
of the volunteers does inventory every few days, and someone
else goes to various stores in the in the area
(10:19):
brings those supplies to the location. So we have, you know,
so we have lots of people involved in lots of
different ways, doing this and that and the other. So
as Carrie mentioned, there's there's there's are more moving pieces
here than you might think. I don't know. Maybe Carrie
would like to talk a little bit about importance of
the interview.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Sure, I'd love to hear it.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
I have something rough going on in my throat, so
I apologize, which is why I have a laz ande
chucked in my cheek. The interview process includes trying to
not be invasive, also getting the kind of information that
(11:04):
may be helpful to us as we work to manage
a program that is designed to reduce any kind of
stress that the person might already be experiencing. So, as
an example, if someone in talking with us says, you know,
(11:27):
I really don't like people and I just want to
come and be by myself, that does not cut that
person out of being included, but that does trigger for
us the need to explore that a little further. And
if I'm asked to call someone prior to that person
even being seen by the one person who receives a stipend,
(11:52):
my goal is to draw the person out as much
as possible, but not in a manner that would put
the person on the spot. So I typically will say
something like, tell me as much about yourself as you
really would like me to know if we are going
(12:12):
to be neighbors, and that gives that person the license
to share some things and not share some other things.
When we look at the Code of conduct, no alcohol
and no drugs are an absolute in that. And so
if someone says I'm really working on this issue, we
(12:35):
talk about that a little bit, but we really work
hard on helping the person to feel comfortable. And actually,
what we're all about, ya is that each person is
to be respected. That that is the basis for what
(12:55):
we are doing. There is an African proverb which I
happen to love, and I worked in West Africa for
quite a while as a linguist, and that is genik
navii manane gordi. And what it literally means is when
(13:16):
the eyes are crying, the nose is running or sitting
down running sitting down, it means running, though, but the
deeper meaning really gets at the heart of what we
are doing, which is when one person is hurting, everyone
is affected, and everyone is really hurting. And so this
(13:37):
is about the volunteers building understanding that they could have
been in that position, understanding at a deeper level the
humanity of each person, and not being judgmental. And so
even in the interview process from the very beginning, we
(13:58):
are working to make that at the baseline for what
it is that we're doing, that kind of respect. And
it is true that some people come to us who
are dealing with substance abuse. It's also true that some
people come to us who have had a crisis in
their lives and now they're living in their cars, some
(14:21):
kind of a financial crisis. Whatever it is, our job
is to honor that person's innate agency and as we
work with the person through the interview process, through inviting
the person to come. If that is the case, we
work to set that person up with social services that
(14:46):
will be helpful and sometimes with medical services. And it
is also true, and this is a tough part of
this issue, if someone has been kicked to the side
by society or perceives that that is what has happened,
that person may think, no, I'm not playing that game.
(15:08):
They always promise and don't come through. So that's where
our development as a program has some big challenges that
we are facing, and we need to confront those challenges
and deal with each person. Even though we have a
(15:29):
code of conduct and we have a code of conduct
for the volunteers, each person is treated in a unique
manner within those parameters because every human deserves that, and
that's what we're really working on doing. And then after
a while, once the person has been in the program,
(15:51):
and there have been people who have either chosen not
to join once they learn that there is a time
you're not supposed to be hanging out until ten am.
You are supposed to be off site and there are
reasons for that. So there have been people who said no,
not for me, I don't want to have Nope, that
sounds too pushy to me. We have to honor that
(16:15):
and say, well, should you decide that this might be
a program that would work for you, please feel free
to get in touch with us again. So we are
honoring the innate agency of the individual, but also knowing
through the experience of other programs that it's critical that
(16:38):
we establish some parameters. And if we were not to
do that, which is what happened a long while ago,
not through IRWS, not through anything with which we're affiliated,
it became kind of a free for all. So we
know that free for alls don't work, and we're trying
to create that balance. You have follow up questions, you
(16:58):
want to ask about any anything that.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Whatever.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Definitely Wow. First, I want to say I really appreciate
the compassion and respect for human dignity which you clearly
have and are demonstrating. And and then one little technical thing,
carry we're not seeing your beautiful face the entire time.
I'm just when for people who are viewing, if you
(17:26):
could scoot it like you would, I was going to
stay closer to Handy like this. Yeah that now I
can now I can see you just yes, because when
you see your lovely face anyway, I just I just
it's so intelligent, your your code of ethics, your program,
the thinking that you've spent researching for a year looking
(17:47):
at other programs to prevent problems that they were having,
and and and of course because it happens in life,
then now you're seeing there. Yet there still are some challenges.
So one of my questions is, do you because the
interviews are handled so delicately and skillfully and compassionately, do
(18:08):
you train people who want to volunteer to do the
greeting guests and interviewing gress and making that discernment or
is that just left in the hands of yourself and
a couple of other experiences people.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
I should try to answer this. We have a lot
of volunteers, and what we do is we structure it
so we try to have an experienced volunteer there, especially
when there's a new volunteer starting. So there's you know,
there's the practicalities of how to get the things going
and where the supplies are. But what I always emphasize
(18:47):
with new volunteers is we're going to be here for
about an hour. And I think what's very important is
that we listen to our guests right and try to
not be judgmental, but try to ask questions about how
are they doing, what's going on in their lives. And
I think it's important. Part of that is I feel
(19:11):
when I do this, I want them to understand that
to me, they're important. Right. Often, if you're living in
your car and whatever else is going on, you know,
you're probably not getting a lot of respect during the day.
Some of our guests that complain about the police trying
(19:31):
to get them to move on, or even if they're
parked in a public park, the police come along and say,
what are you doing here? Why are you here all afternoon?
And so on, And you know, I think it's very
important that when they come to our program, they understand
that we value who they are and we're there to
(19:52):
support them. And I guess the way Carrie puts it,
walk with them, try to help them find the resources
they need. And I think I wanted to emphasize that,
you know, we're an all volunteer team and we don't
we don't we're not trained as social workers and so on,
(20:12):
and so we strongly encourage our parkers, our guests to
connect with an agency in the county that can help
them with those issues because of the situation they're in.
Often these folks, well, first of all, they need help
getting housing right, so presumably they would like to find housing,
and so there are social service agencies that they can
(20:35):
work with will help them find housing, and that's one
of our goals, is that is to not have people
stay with us permanently, but to find a safe place
to live aside from their car. And then often they
have other needs as well. You know, some of them
have medical needs and they haven't been able to address those.
(20:57):
One of our guests, you know, seem to be getting
more and more ill for the last few weeks, and
we encouraged him to get medical help, and now he's
getting the medical help right. So we really it turns
out it's not just parking. There's more to it than that,
(21:20):
you know, because we're getting to know these folks and
find out what their issues are and then try to
help them find the resources to address those as best
we can. But again we're not a social service agency,
so we try to find options for our guests and
(21:40):
encourage them more or less pretty strongly that they find
a connection with an agency that can help them find
the resources. That's part of the deal right now.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
I would like to go back to a word that
Andy just used, which is listen. And we have I've
had several experiences where volunteers felt that it was appropriate
to provide lectures on well being or how you can
(22:14):
manage your life better or okay, sale whatever. And so
in those instances, the Parkers themselves spoke to us and said,
you know, this person is really lecturing this other person.
And even though we are not social workers, our whole
(22:35):
basis for the work that we do is to be
good listeners, not to be lecturers, and to not assume,
which then puts the person immediately into a power struggle
and it's just a very uncomfortable and inappropriate setting. So
(22:55):
there have been instances where even though the volunteers have
been instructed about listening and drawing people out but not
trying to be intrusive and all of that, there have
been a few glitches in the system. And it is
the Parkers who have brought that to our attention so
(23:18):
that we can talk with those few individuals and say
this is something that is not to happen and you
need to be thinking about it. And we've had very
serious meetings with a couple of people. So my feeling
is that that is part of our calling, is to
(23:39):
be vigilant about the parkers being honored, and if that
is being jeopardized, we do step in. So it's an
intriguing process and I think we've all learned a great
deal from it. Some of our volunteers are medical people
(24:02):
who are now in retirement. We have a person who
is a fabulous social worker with whom we consult quite
a bit, who manages a different kind of program, a
low cost housing program. And I'm personally very jealous of
(24:23):
my time, and so I'm pretty discerning about where I
place my energies. And I feel that what is happening
with Heart Safe Parking merits all the time that I
can give it because it is making a difference in
(24:44):
the lives of individuals. And now there's that adage about
thinking globally but acting locally, and I really believe that
when people connect personally with others and see the ways
in which they can be helpful but not pushy, they're
(25:07):
the The learning on the part of the volunteers is extended,
and certainly they they learn and grow as much as
as they are offering whatever kind of assistance or walking
with the person. So so we're not we're not kicking
back and say no, we have enough volunteers. We're watching
(25:29):
what is happening and continuing to talk with people.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Well, that's you made it very clear why that's so critical,
and because we are never in someone else's shoes, and
if we inadvertently, even with you know, the best intentions,
I think that we can actually help someone by telling
them how to live well, but we haven't becomes condescending.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
It should never be condescending or paternalistic. Ever, so we're
looking for any hint that that could be happening.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Well, that's fantastic quality, really seriously quality service and premonting activistity. Well, gosh,
I'm wondering a couple of things. I'm sorry, go ahead.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
That's some of the things Carrie mentioned. Uh touched on
how are things going? And I was going to comment
on what are we Is the program successful? So I think, uh,
the basic question is does this do these folks feel
safer parking overnight where you know, in our in our program,
(26:37):
and they all report that they do. Now I have
to mention that it's not perfectly quiet. It's an open church,
an open campus, they say. And occasionally does some people
wander by and that can be just you know, discouraging
or or disruptive, but it's very occasional. And uh, one
(26:59):
of the things we've found out is the local ambulance
drivers like to park in that lot and they're not
on call. So occasionally this ambulance will drive in and
park in the back, and it's a little bit disruptive
because they do turn their I mean, they're not their
emergency lights, but there, you know, their headlights are on.
They drive in and drive out, and but otherwise, you know,
(27:21):
really it has been much quieter than I mean, it's
quieter for them for sure. And anyway, I mean, with
with some minor disruptions, things have been quite quite successful
in that regard. So we're happy with that. And then
you know, the other issues are are they getting help,
(27:42):
for instance, getting housing and and that has been happening.
I think at least one of the parkers definitely. I mean,
we know got an apartment, you know where that is.
We help them get some furniture. It's interesting people havevolunteers
all jumped up and said, oh, let's help this fellow, uh,
(28:03):
you know, get get to bed, get some get it chairs,
a table, whatever he needs because you're limit in your car,
you don't have much furniture. So that was that was
it was fun to see that happen. I mean, it
was very partning to see one of our folks find
a place. And right now we've got a couple of
our parkers are talking about you know, they have applications
(28:24):
in and things might happen, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.
So that's, you know, sort of the longer goal is
to help them achieve whatever their goals are. You know,
for instance, the Santa Barbara program they have you know,
a state that one of the reasons they run the
(28:45):
program is to help their parkers find a place to live,
and they do. It is run by a social service
agency and that's they meet with everyone every month and
they said, every month several people find a place to
live and that's that's a great success. And they did.
They and we asked, well, you have a deadline, like
(29:07):
if someone doesn't find a place, you know, do you
tell them they have to move on? So, no, we
don't have a deadline. We do have one person who
comes every month and is nominally searching for a place
to live, but it has been in the program since
its inception, which is years and years. So they said,
(29:29):
the resumption is this person really loves living in their car,
is not really interested in finding any other accommodation. But anyway,
putting that aside, you know, I think we do hope
that our safe parking is a temporary solution for people
who are in their cars, and that hopefully with a
(29:50):
little more stability they can get some better sleep, they
will give them a little more time during the day
to seek some permanent housing at least that's you know.
So that is one of our goals, and we're we've
just started, so, you know, but we can point to
one c their's success and we're hoping that one or
two of our our guests will find something in the
(30:12):
next few months.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
That's very encouraging, very encouraging. And I before I ask
you other questions, there's a question from a couple of
questions from listeners reviewers. One from Benny, does your program
provide a reference if a parker can get a place?
I was going to ask that is there, do you
have a number, do you have a website. Is there
(30:34):
a way for people to contact you? And then I'll
ask the next question.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Uh, let's see. Yes, I'll have to looks and expecting
that question. Davis website. We have a website with safe
parking description on there. I have to look again and
find that Google.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Part of Davis. I.
Speaker 3 (31:00):
Yeah, I'll try to post the website there.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Okay, if you put it in the chat box, Rebel
can make a banner that can stream in case people
are seeing this. But some people might be listening, soul
say it out loud as well. But heart of Davis's website,
they've parked while you.
Speaker 3 (31:19):
I'm looking at the question. Do they are they asking
we help them? We provide a reference if they want
to apply for apartment in I believe that's actually happened
that one of the folks, one of the volunteers, actually
did invite a reference for one of our guests in
(31:40):
inter application. So if you know, partly we can do
that because we get to know these folks and after
a while you know them well enough to feel comfortable
providing some sort of reference. And often they don't have
that many other for instance, they very few of them
have professional contacts. By that kind of efforts.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
Thanks Benny for that question, and I realized you see
the questions too. There's one from Francis. Are these families
with small children? Are there some families with small.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
We have we have tried to avoid bringing children in
only because children raise all kinds of other issues. It's
safety in particular. We don't have an absolute prohibition. They
think our thinking was, you know, there are other resources
(32:34):
if you have children in the county, but if someone
came to us and they had no other alternatives, we
would consider that.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Okay, thank you.
Speaker 4 (32:44):
I also think it's important that your listeners know that
after a person has been in the program for a while,
we do another interview, and that interview is the how
is it going interview? You know, how what are you
doing about food? Are you connected with, for example, STAKE
(33:09):
short term emergency food assistance? Are you looking at some
other issues? We have a list of resources, and we
want to see whether people are following through, even those
who have had unfortunate experiences with social service agencies. It's
(33:34):
time to try those again. And so when we're doing that,
that other interview, it's not a yes you can stay,
no you can't stay interview. It's a tell us what
is happening, what is going well, where you need additional help.
And I think that's a really important aspect of letting
(33:56):
people know that we see them, we care about them,
we want we want them to do well. With respect
to the police. And this is full admission. I would
like for Heart of Davis to have a time when
(34:17):
we spend time with the police staff talking about what
it is to be a compassionate police force. And there
are compassionate individuals within the police force, but some people
go into that kind of a profession because it is
(34:38):
powerful in one small arena. And so one of my
goals for Heart of Davis is that we will be
able to do some in service training. We have a
wonderful police chief. I and some others have spent hours
talking with him. I think he is in support of that.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
It's very cool.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
And then the other little thing that I want to
share that isn't the little thing at all is one
of our goals as Heart of Davis is to have
a brick and mortar building that will serve as a
year round emergency shelter with wrap around services.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Wonderful, So this.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
Program we hope will continue, but we really want to
also continue to push the city and others in the
direction of finding land, which is the big stumbling block.
NIMBYism is a big stumbling block, and getting that funding
(35:52):
and building that building. So we're not stopping with our
current program. It is one program within the range of
a number of things that we see as needs now.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
Yay, kay, powerful. I'm so delighted that you added that
because it's so much sounds like I used to work
for Wrap Around Services in the state of Maine, and
it definitely feels it has the feeling of it like
you want continuity. That it's not just the introduction interview
(36:27):
to make sure they agree to the code of ethics
and have some safe nights sleeping. It's your care, like
you said, and you connect them to a lot of
broad array of services right now, not as a social
service agency, a group of volunteers committed with committing your
time and art and soul and relying on gosh, community goodness.
(36:54):
And that you have this vision for brick and mortar,
that you see Wrapper Services becoming more and more of
a reality. And I love that you're asking for a
meeting with the police department. That's a great idea used
to work with the police department and may again a
lot of my experiences with wrap around and also helping
(37:17):
people who were fleeing from domestic violence. We did a
lot of work with police department, attorneys, judges, doctors to
increase understanding and reduced judgmental This increased understanding of the
variables and factors so that more and more people became
involved with the wrap around vision that you have.
Speaker 3 (37:37):
That's I mean, remember I or WS history goes back
to many of the local churches and synagogue got together
and offered winter time during wintertime space for twenty five
to forty people each night between around late November until
(37:57):
March to give people a place i know, out of
the cold. The city is still doing that, but at
a very limited scale, and we're very concerned this year
that cutback so much it's going to be many people
who won't really have a place to stay. But really,
we know that there's at least a couple hundred people
(38:20):
in Davis who are you know, sleeping out of doors
or don't have a place to stay. I mean there's
various levels and categories, but you know, having ever eight
beds when it's cold is just really not enough.
Speaker 2 (38:36):
And I r WS interface rotation is that right.
Speaker 3 (38:41):
Winter rotating winter shelter. So since we couldn't run the
winter shelter when COVID hit, we ended up changing our
name to Heart of Davis. And you know it's because
we're It seemed even after pandemic uh sort of resolved
that it still wasn't going to be possible to restart
(39:02):
the rotating shelter. There was just too much concern about
which we learned, you know, from the pandemic. You know,
having let's say, thirty people together in a single space
all night has its issues which weren't so evident to
us earlier but now are. And so you know, many
(39:22):
many of the churches felt like they weren't just weren't
going to be able to organize and post that maybe
in a few years it'll become a possibility again, but
right now you haven't been able to let people behind it.
But you know, really this shouldn't be done by a
bunch of volunteers. I mean, this is the sort of
thing that city and county really should be should be
(39:47):
taken care of, right.
Speaker 2 (39:48):
So absolutely looking for that. So for people who want to,
like a friend who I just mentioned that it would
have the opportunity to speak with two said, well, do
they need blankets like to like for people who want
to donate something clean and nice and good shape and condition.
(40:10):
Is there a way for that to happen and is
it through the website Heart of Davis website?
Speaker 3 (40:15):
Yeah, I think the best would be to call. There's
a number there which you'll get. You may have to
leave a message, but we'll get back to them if
they have something they would like to donate. Other than money.
We have organized to give Parkers various things, some winter clothes,
(40:40):
and it is a problem. I mean, they're sleeping in
their car. It's cold now, and you know, so they're
all wearing multiple layers try and stay warm, and we
discussed some way to heat the cars. That turns out
that's really complicated and tricky, and so we have provided
in some cases you know, weren't winter coats and things
(41:04):
or blankets, et cetera. But yeah, it's it's it's you know,
I I do most of my volunteer work in the morning,
and uh, you know, they come in and you know,
their hands are red from the cold. It's it's not fun,
but at least they're feeling a little safer than they're
So that's where we are.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
And the connection to you, the human connection with other humans,
it's so critical.
Speaker 3 (41:31):
You know, I mean, you know, thinking about this sometimes
it feels like, really, we've were this is the best
we can do. Uh, you know, you sort of feel like, really, uh,
why can't we get these people some decent place to live?
It's so frustrating, it's extremely frus and this is sort
(41:52):
of where we are, and this is we're providing something
and people and they appreciate it. These these people do
use every day. That's glad we're there. Sometimes you feel like, gosh,
can't we get these people a decent place to live?
Speaker 2 (42:08):
Sorry?
Speaker 4 (42:09):
And it can happen. There has to be a political will,
absolutely and the civic will, and then it can happen.
And even with all of the federal cuts, there are funds.
But the biggest stumbling block is getting the land, and that,
(42:32):
as I'm sure you are aware, has been resolved in
several neighboring pueblos and several neighboring towns in various ways.
And Davis needs to look squarely at how we can
do this. I know it didn't happen.
Speaker 2 (42:53):
I love that Davis needs to look squarely on how
we can do this, the political will and the civil will.
We can find the land and more can be done.
My gosh, we have about a minute and a half left.
You know what you've already said is just beautiful and powerful.
But do you have anything to add for closing thoughts and.
Speaker 3 (43:18):
Amazing you want me to I think I just said
I think we should. I when I started, I was
volunteering in the evening, and I found it difficult to
leave because here I'm going home to a nice, warmhouse
or a cool house in the summer and leaving these
(43:38):
folks behind in their car. I felt bad. I still
feel like I wish we could do more. And to
go back to Carrie's point, I think that's really the
concluding comment, as we really should as a town, as
a county really should have some way to help folks
have a place, a decent place to live. That's our
long term goal, and the safe parking is one step
(44:00):
in that direction.
Speaker 2 (44:01):
Beautiful. Thank I can thank you enough for what you do.
I really appreciate your sharing where you're at, what you're
getting done. What else can happen and needs to happen.
Thank you both so much, Andy and Carrey, and we'll
have to have you back again to help reflect the progress.
Speaker 4 (44:18):
When we come back to talk about progress, we may
tell you about other sites that have been opened, so
that is something that is possible. We want to keep
each site very small, but that as we work through
these months that are essentially our startup months, we're starting
(44:39):
our seventh now, we will be looking at other sites
as possibilities. So yeah, it would be fun to come back.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
Wonderful and anybody who is listening or watching check out
part of Davis Go Daddy sites dot com. And again
thanks to Andy and Carrey, love your magnificent hearts. Thank
you so much for what you're doing. And I also
want to thank the listeners and viewers and people who
sent in questions and anyone else who can help build
(45:10):
the civic political will. And I want to thank Rebel,
our engineer, our producer, Dean Piper, and be sure to
tune in next Wednesday at eight pm Eastern time or
it's your voice on Talk four TV or W four
c Y dot com and maybe all have enriching conversations
and diversity this week. Thank you again
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