Sign up for email newsletters
Sign up for email newsletters
SANTA CRUZ — A grassroots homeless storage program active since 2018 will empty its hundreds of plastic bins Nov. 15, the program’s director has announced.
Footbridge Services, which grew up from an initial free storage program into leased space off Ocean Street Extension, had expanded its offerings over the years to include services such as laundry, showers, device charging and a coffee cart, in addition to basic sundry donations. Last year, the program extended its offerings to open a separate 12-bed women-only space, dubbed the Secret Garden Women’s Shelter. As of June, Footbridge Services leader Brent Adams estimated that the storage program had hosted bins for more than 1,000 individuals during its operations. During four years of free laundry service, Adams added that his volunteer team helped wash some 10,000 loads of laundry. A mobile shower program entered its third year in 2022, offering about 50 showers each Sunday.
“Homelessness is confusing and difficult to address — it’s been a privilege to serve our clients, guests, residents and the community at large with this work,” Adams told the Sentinel ahead of a more widely shared general announcement.
The private donation-powered Footbridge Services Program has been set in a single-story office complex tucked between the single-block Felker Street residential neighborhood and the San Lorenzo River levee, where its operators and volunteer workforce were regularly called on to balance clients‘ and neighbors’ needs as foot traffic increased in the area. The city Zoning Administrator approved plans submitted last month by the Felker Street property’s owner to demolish the building and six of its 10 on-site heritage trees. A new four-story 32-unit apartment building, including four units established at federally defined very-low-income rates, will replace the office complex.
Adams has long decried a lack of city and county financial support for what he describes as highly cost-efficient efforts leaning heavily on an organized volunteer workforce. He also has admitted that his temper and tendency to speak without a filter born out of frustrations with a system heavily prioritizing housing over shelter has helped scuttle several efforts to secure government contracts.
“We as communities lay the blame of homelessness on many factors, yet do we take responsibility for this, our shared challenge?,” Adams wrote in a press release this week. “We’ve allowed the county and city to take control of this challenge, but to what end? We’ve seen millions upon millions of dollars spent on things that have little effect on reducing or improving street homelessness. After (five) years of unclean and unsafe mega-camps that only double in size every year, we’ll now watch the city spend more than $14,000,000 on mitigation, management and the enforcement of a new anti-homeless ordinance.” Related Articles Santa Cruz County accepts $10.7M Homekey grant Santa Cruz RV safe parking program launches Second wave of Santa Cruz homeless camp closure enforced San Jose: City staff urge council to scrap controversial tiny home site for homeless residents Larger picture revealed for Santa Cruz County homelessness
Prior to locating to the more permanent space, Footbridge Services’ director Brent Adams had provided the storage program as a mobile service after plans to launch a city-sponsored Day & Night Storage Program in shipping containers at the then-empty 1220 River St. lot fell through.
Separate from Footbridge Services is Adam’s nonprofit Warming Center Program, launched for the first time during below-freezing temperatures on the last nights of December 2014. That parent program will continue in its pop-up emergency shelter at participating faith institutions, in addition to cold/wet weather gear distribution through the coming fall and winter seasons, Adams said.
Sign up for email newsletters