Homeless Resources

The U.S. Census Bureau counted 120 homeless people in Davis in 2004. This is a comprehensive guide to hungry/homeless resources in Davis and the surrounding communities.

Food Not Bombs serves free vegetarian meals every Sunday around 1:00PM at the bench in the center of Central Park. "It's not charity; it's a protest!" is their slogan. This is the best food anywhere, at the best price. The plates sometimes have a little grease film on them, so you may wish to wash yours or bring your own plate. It isn't nearly enough to be a health hazard though. The food is almost always vegan, meaning no egg or dairy products are used as well as no meat. Most of the people eating here appreciate the absence of meat, but a few want meat. The 'almost' refers to the occasions when prepared meat items were donated to them, and they passed them on.

FNB in many cities has a history of abuse from the police. Happily, there have not been any confrontation with the authorities in Davis for a long time. So you may eat in peace.

Davis Community Meals serves two free meals every week at The Episcopal Church of St. Martin: dinner on Tuesdays at 5:45PM and lunch on Saturdays at 11:30AM. The day's menu is posted at the head of the serving area, which is served cafeteria style, sort of. Once you get to the head of the queue, the servers pick up a tray and pass it down the line as each server asks you whether you want that particular food item or not. They insist on holding your tray until the end (this is stupid, but whatever). The tables are pre-set with silverware and a napkin, so you just sit down and eat. There are always empty spots. Juice is available at lunch and 6 ounce cartons of 2% milk at dinner. The food is middle-of-the-road American fare, never anything "gourmet" or "ethnic" as that would cause problems among those with "less sophisticated palates". There's always meat, but the meals are not meat-based. In other words, there's a bit of meat, but not a lot of meat. There are always several vegetarian items. They always have a large selection of single-serving desserts, such as pie, cake, brownies, etc. In the summertime the lunches are served and eaten outdoors. As expected, the evening meal is larger and offers more choices than the lunchtime meal. After everyone has been served, you may return for seconds if you wish (I rarely do this, as one almost always gets enough the first time through). This place deserves points for being a "no questions asked" place. Just show up, stand in line, get your food, and eat. This is a safe, peaceful place; no need to worry about that. There is no proselytizing, however you will be subjected to live piano and/or violin music and tap dancing. About 60 people eat at the Thursday meal.

H.E.L.P. (Help & Education Leading to Prevention) is a student-run community service club at UCD. They are "dedicated to promoting awareness of poverty and preventing it through community involvement". They serve a meal at The Episcopal Church of St. Martin on Thursday nights at 6:00PM. The quality is variable, but the price can't be beat. These meals are served restaurant style, that is, they put food on a plate and bring it to you. Unlike a restaurant, you can't send your plate back when it's botched. At least you don't have to leave a tip. About 20 people eat here.

I just (2009-07-16) ate at the H.E.L.P. meal an hour ago. They served crushed glass in a bun. At least my sore gums tell me so. It could have been a charred hamburger, though. In addition, there were two tomato slices (resembling postage stamps in size and thickness) with parmesan cheese, sauteed mushrooms, charred potato ends with skin, a section of grapefruit (as in one wedge), and water. They serve seconds, but I seldom stay for it.

A free sack lunch (aka the "sack snack") can be gotten from the Davis Community Church, which is the big church across the street from Central Park, Monday through Friday, at 11:30AM to noon. It's known as the "sack snack" due to it's meager size. The few times I had it, it consisted of a ramen noodle cup, a child-size apple juice container, and airline-food-type crackers with artificial peanut butter (or something) filling. Most homeless people just bypass this as it's not worth the bother.

This is operated out of the Pole Line Road Baptist Church. It is available Monday, Tuesday and Friday, 9am-noon [530/753-4315]. They provide "canned goods and staple food items to families; snack type food to transients" according to this.

Grace in Action is a program operated out of the Grace House. It is a place to "chill," get a little food, talk to someone if you are troubled, etc. Their hours are posted on the window to the right of the front door. It is an ecumenical foundation. They are very warm and friendly, though they will insist that you sign in and tell them about yourself.

The Short Term Emergency Aid Committee distributes free food and clothing to individuals once a month (and at other times on an emergency basis). You must get "in the system" to use this. This means you will have a "case worker." You can apply at either the Davis Community Meals shelter [1111 H Street] or at the Davis Community Church; food and clothes are distributed from Grace House.

• E-mail: <steac AT dcn DOT org>
  

• http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~steac/

The annual Holiday Meal is sponsored by a number of community businesses and is held annually on December 24th.

Davis Community Meals operates a shelter with less than a dozen beds at 1111 H Street. This transitional home for families provides clients with resources such as showers, computer access and laundry amenities; they also provide one-night vouchers for the Davis Cold Weather Shelter described below. Beware: they will photograph you, check your identification and file this with the police if you request to stay there. After three days they require a tuberculosis screening too. (Note: They will not accept client mail at the shelter; clients may receive personal mail at P.O. Box 72871, Davis 95617.) The H Street shelter is part of the Davis Community Meals program and often needs volunteers to staff the front desk. Food donations are very welcome.

• office: (530)753-9204
  

• client phone: (530)753-8942
  

• fax: (530)753-3818

Davis Community Meals also operates a shelter at 512 Fifth Street with ten beds set up to accommodate eight men and two women. During warm months, this facility serves as transitional housing for families in need. During cold weather months [no earlier than November and no later than the close of April], it operates solely as a cold weather shelter with opening and closing dates dependent upon weather.

As a cold weather shelter, this facility is open from 6pm-8am, with clients asked to leave by 7:30am to allow volunteers to clean the facility; there is currently no limit to the number of nights a client may stay. Clients are not permitted to leave and return after check-in, except to smoke in designated outdoor areas — clients must check in by 8pm. Three staff members remain on site from 6pm-11pm and two staff members until 8am the following morning. Shelter clients are provided with a bed and food during their stay but are served only limited meals such as canned soup for dinner and coffee and pastries for breakfast. Clients arriving under the influence of drugs are not turned away unless they are believed to be a nuisance or pose a threat to either themselves or other clients. Clients must agree to shelter rules, including restrictions on loitering during closed hours, consumption of drugs and alcohol on site, weapons possession, etc. Clients must obtain a voucher earlier in the day to reserve a space at the cold weather shelter, and should contact Davis Community Meals at 1111 H Street for voucher information — vouchers are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis; alternatively Davis police officers can refer individuals to the shelter. This facility has had only one theft reported during the 2006 season, and can be considered a safe facility.

Yolo Wayfarer Center [238 W Beamer St, Woodland, 530-661-1218] is a rescue mission serving the homeless of Yolo County by offering daily meals, substance abuse treatment, year-round shelter and transitional housing; this is the only year-round emergency shelter in Yolo County. Weekday dinners are served from 5:30pm-6:00pm, while just one meal is served from 3:00pm-3:30pm on weekends; groceries are distributed Mondays at 9:00am. The mission also provides laundry, showers, counseling and various vouchers (food, clothes, etc.). Holiday baskets are available for both Thanksgiving and Christmas as well as community meals on those days; during Thanksgiving dinner, coats are distributed by the Salvation Army. Community members wishing to receive a Thanksgiving food basket must sign up at the Department of Employment & Social Services [25 North Cottonwood St., Woodland] or at Broderick Christian Center in West Sacramento — please check the website for signup dates. During the winter months [November –March], the cold weather shelter is available to both homeless individuals and families and requires all clients to be drug-free and sober; check in is at 7:30pm with lights out at 10:00pm — clients are awakened at 6:00am.

Short Term Emergency Aid Committee distributes motel vouchers for emergency shelter and can also provide cash to prevent community members from losing their existing shelter/utilities or to cover move-in costs for long-term shelter.

Those unable to find shelter in Yolo County or Davis may wish to find transport to Cal Expo [Exposition Blvd. & Ethan] in Sacramento, where Sacramento County offers winter shelter with meals to homeless individuals and families beginning around Thanksgiving. The Winter Shelter Program accommodates immediate shelter needs of the homeless when other local shelters are full. Volunteers of America administer the program under contract to the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance in partnership with Cal Expo.

During the winter of 2006, the Cal Expo Winter Shelter will remain open until March 31, 2007. Clients will be housed in the former “Paradise Island” at Cal Expo — this space has been completely renovated with new dorms, new linens for each bed, new furniture for gender-separate lounge areas and a large dining area. The shelter can house up to 154 people each night; a valid tuberculosis clearance is required within three days of shelter admittance and clients may stay up to for fourteen days with extensions granted on a case-by-case basis. Community members needing shelter must register 3pm-5pm on weekdays or by 1:30pm on weekends at the following locations: men should register at Salvation Army [1200 North B Street] while women & children should register at Loaves & Fishes [1321 North C Street]. Volunteers of America will provide transportation to and from the shelter where clients will be served two meals daily — clients can expect to arrive at the shelter between 4:30pm and 5:30pm. Operating in conjunction with this Winter Shelter Program, the Salvation Army will have an additional 32 beds for single women and Volunteers of America [1590 North A Street] will have 20 beds for single men.

The Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter is a multi-faith collaboration enabling member congregations to provide winter shelter and hospitality in their facilities on a rotating basis to persons who are homeless in the Davis, CA community.

Shelter Listings is a registered non-profit maintaining a housing database specifically for the homeless and low-income. The database consists of over 2,600 listings nation-wide and is made up of homeless shelters, emergency shelters, transitional housing, residential drug/alcohol rehabilitation programs and permanent affordable housing.

*http://www.ShelterListings.org

The Spare Changer is a locally-published homeless-advocate newspaper. The Spare Changer is published by "Lawson" and sold by himself and "Robert". The retail price is $2.50 as of 2009. Note that this is not a street newspaper as it is not free to homeless people, nor intended to be sold by a profit by homeless people, nor published, nor sold by homeless individuals.

Free Unitrans passes (good in perpetuity) for seniors and disabled persons can be acquired at the Davis Senior Center, 646 A Street. Inquire at the front desk. No proof or ID required. Yolobus passes (good for about a year) are distributed on an as-needed basis from the DCN shelter.

Community Voice Mail offers free voicemail to the homeless.

• Yolo County Homeless and Poverty Action Coalition

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We dropped off left-over burgers, chips, salad, etc. to Davis Community Meals from a potluck and everyone was very appreciative. -JanelleAlvstadMattson

• Food Not Bombs also appreciates food donations. Either contact us or bring it to our weekly serving.