On a freezing New Years Eve, Sonoma County failed its unsheltered homeless

By Kathleen Finigan —

As Sonoma County residents prepared to welcome the New Year in various ways, virtually all of us, whether at home or out with friends, could look forward to spending the night in a warm bed.  The temperature dipped to 27 degrees that night as forecast.

But some 1,700 unsheltered homeless human beings in our midst had no such warmth or comfort.  Their only option was to celebrate Auld Lang Zyne out in the freezing cold. Large warming centers that have gone up in the past to protect the vulnerable under such emergency conditions were nowhere to be found. How could this have happened?

On Monday, December 27, advocates at the regular Homeless Action! meeting expressed their concern about the cold snap forecast for the days ahead. By Tuesday morning, a forecast of four successive nights of freezing and below freezing temperatures from Wednesday, December 29th through January 1 prompted action. A release calling for the immediate opening of large buildings such as Veterans’ Memorial Hall and at the Fairgrounds was sent to authorities, electeds and the media.  

By Wednesday the 29th, the Sonoma County Commission on Human Rights released a supporting statement that pointed to the fact that such buildings had been quickly mobilized to accommodate victims of wildfire emergencies in the past and questioned why people experiencing homelessness were not receiving comparable treatment. Emergency freeze protocols in the Department of Health call for establishing warming shelters when three consecutive nights are forecast at 35 degrees or lower or just one night at below freezing.  But those protocols were cast aside.

Calls to at least two officials at the Department of Health were not returned but a helpful staffer in Public Health Officer Sundari Mase’s office promised to contact the Department of Emergency Readiness and other relevant authorities.

As Thursday dawned, it was clear that the County wasn’t taking any action save the 53 extra winter beds it had announced on December 1. Officials were seemingly ignorant of the fact that 40 of those 53 beds, those offered by Redwood Gospel Mission, were already taken. Santa Rosa mayor Chris Rogers quickly engaged with Catholic Charities to set up a 40-person facility with popup tents and heaters.  A welcome move, to be sure, but it should be noted that those coming to the facility were not allowed to lie down at any time during the night.

That afternoon, the County finally released a freeze warning for December 31 through January 3 and cautioned people to “limit time outdoors, as serious medical conditions including hypothermia and frostbite can develop with prolonged cold weather exposure.” A previous emergency freeze warning put out by Emergency Readiness on December 1 also cautioned that “Frost or Freeze warnings pose a significant health risk, particularly to the elderly, young children, the unsheltered and those with chronic illness.”  

Can it be that these officials really don’t understand that apart from the few who can squeeze into the Catholic Charities Homeless Services center during the sporadic hours they’re open, people living on the streets have no inside place to go to?

By December 31, SAVS and its volunteers had secured a space at the Sebastopol Community Church and Acts of  Kindness partnered up with the Squeaky Wheel Bicycle Coalition to place three 20-person tents with warmers and N95 masks in Santa Rosa. 

At Fremont Park, which housed one of those tents, those who sought refuge from the cold were told by Santa Rosa Police that they could not bring blankets or pillows into the tent and if found sleeping, would be arrested.

Katrina Phillips, chair of the Commission on Human Rights, paid regular visits to Fremont Park.  A wheelchair-bound woman told her on January 2nd,  “There’s nowhere else to go.  We appreciate these warming tents so much.  The police were just here threatening to arrest us if we fall asleep. It’s like they want us to die.” 

 The next morning, Phillips discovered that the tent had been torn down and destroyed by police.  It was cold and rainy and those who sought cover under the eaves of the church next door were told to leave or face arrest.   “I don’t know how anybody who did that could go home and sleep in their own bed,” she said.

Homeless advocates were astonished by the gratuitous cruelty demonstrated by the police.  Mayor Rogers, who said he only learned of the situation from the newspaper, promised to get some answers from Police Chief Ray Navarro.  This incident stands out starkly as proof positive that the Federal injunction that has held police enforcements in check since July 2019 must be reinstated immediately.  The injunction, which protected unhoused persons from cruel and unusual punishment under the 8th Amendment, free from unusual search and seizure under the 4th Amendment, and the right to be free from state-created danger under the 14th Amendment, expired on December 31 when Santa Rosa refused to extend it. 

Unbelievably, Santa Rosa insists that it employs a “compassionate approach” in its dealings with people experiencing homelessness.

The County’s December 30 emergency statement said, “If you or someone you know requires shelter during this cold period, call the Coordinated Entry System Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at (866) 542-5480 or email [email protected].”  

However, a call to that number on Friday, December 31 was met with a recorded message stating that the person who mans that hotline would be on vacation until January 4 and no inquires would be handled until then. The same message was heard on Monday, January 3.  As a member of the Coordinated Entry Committee, this advocate can’t help feeling profound sadness and outrage in equal measure.

Advocates have called for the Board of Supervisors to thoroughly investigate why our emergency systems fell apart.  Human lives are at stake and along with some answers, all Sonoma County residents deserve far better than this.

Kathleen Finigan is a member of the Human Rights Commission representing the 1st District and a member of Homeless Action! of Sonoma County.  She is a longtime activist and also follows issues regarding law enforcement malfeasance and the need for transparency and accountability in our police departments and Sheriff’s Office.