\u201cWhat we were doing was essentially reshuffling folks around,\u201d Chavez said. \u201cI think with this new era of collaboration, that\u2019s going to end.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said there is currently no tentative date for when the MOU might get finished between the city and the county when asked by Fresnoland during a brief media scrum following the news conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not going to rush it. We have time, so we want to do it right,\u201d Dyer said.<\/p>\n
Both Chavez and Dyer added that the MOU will make it clear which of the two parties \u201cis responsible for what\u201d when it comes to providing local homeless services, and introduce accountability methods to track the spending of housing funds across Fresno\u2019s many supportive service organizations<\/a>.<\/p>\n Five years ago, a Fresno County Grand Jury report<\/a> found a severe lack of coordination across the multitude of agencies working to serve unhoused residents.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to know exactly how the money is spent,\u201d Chavez said, \u201cand, more importantly, how it helps those folks that are in crisis that don\u2019t have housing or substance abuse or mental health services, transition out from that situation and out of that crisis into a long-term sustainability model.\u201d<\/p>\n The city has also been looking toward the state for new ways to address its local homeless issues. Fresno recently entered an agreement with Caltrans<\/a>, the state\u2019s transportation agency, to be able to clear encampments on highway rights of way.\u00a0<\/p>\n Michael Navarro, a regional director for Caltrans<\/a>, said at the Friday news conference that the state has removed 19,000 homeless encampments since 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s news conference was held inside the recuperative care facility on 4080 N Blackstone Ave \u2014 the former Fresno campus of SOUL Housing, a service provider that left town \u201cwithout an exit strategy,\u201d<\/a> Dyer said, placing about 200 in-house patients\u00a0 at risk of homelessness, and laying off 39 employees with few hours notice. The legality of their exit<\/a> has been under investigation by the Fresno City Attorney since last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n Katie Wilbur, executive director of RH Community Builders\u2019 \u2014 a local supportive services group that has taken over the Blackstone facility in the interim \u2014\u00a0 said her group plans to vacate the facility by the end of January. She added that \u201canybody who still needs\u201d supportive services will move with RH Community Builders after they vacate the premises.\u00a0<\/p>\n When asked what the property owner of the Blackstone facility has said amid the transition, Dyer said they wanted the city to buy the property to run as a shelter \u2014 but there is no appetite for that. Fresno County records show that the property is owned by Sushilaben Patel and Prabhatbhai Patel.<\/p>\n The sudden closure of the SOUL housing facility quickly drew media scrutiny to the city\u2019s own homeless shelters, which could face closure following a reduction in available state and federal funding to keep the beds open. Two of the city\u2019s homeless shelters announced earlier this year that they will close due to a lack of funding<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The city opened up those shelters using funding from the state\u2019s Homekey <\/a>program \u2014 a pandemic-era policy that saw billions of dollars go to cities and counties across California toward the opening of shelter sites for the homeless. The money came with strings attached, requiring the city\u2019s and county\u2019s buy-in on eventually turning those shelter sites into permanent housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the money to make sure those beds actually result in permanent homes was never guaranteed, and is often hard to come by.<\/p>\n Dyer reiterated that requirement on Friday by saying that there was \u201cnever any intent\u201d by the city to permanently run the homeless shelter that they opened up using the state\u2019s pandemic funding. He added that the city is looking at options to transition shelter residents away from the sites, aware of the impending shutter date for many of his city\u2019s shelters.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s our commitment, and if we don\u2019t have a place for them to stay, then we\u2019ll delay our transition out,\u201d Dyer said. \u201cSimple as that. We\u2019ll figure out a way to pay for it and partner with the county and other organizations in the state to make sure we do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s news conference also doubled as a resource fair for the remaining residents at the Blackstone facility. The fair included county and state organizations like the Department of Motor Vehicles, who provided patrons with resources to get an ID card. Dyer said Friday\u2019s fair was a spiritual successor to a similar event that happened last month<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dyer ended the news conference addressing the shelter residents and homeless residents present at the news conference.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe love you right where you\u2019re at, but we don\u2019t want to leave you where you\u2019re at,\u201d Dyer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Relatively speaking, the county has made moves this year that signal a new, increased desire to take a leadership role in addressing the local homeless crisis.<\/p>\n Early last month, the county took over as the managing partner for the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care<\/a> \u2014 a local coalition of homeless supportive service groups. And earlier this week, Fresno\u2019s Board Of Supervisors OK\u2019d the County Administrative Office to open \u201cOffice Of Housing And Homelessness,<\/a>\u201d a new department to specifically focus on tackling local unhoused issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Fresno Madera Continuum of Care reported earlier this year that homelessness in the region<\/a> has continued to grow now for over a decade.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DSC1164.jpg\")
Michael Navarro, a regional manager for Caltrans. Pablo Orihuela | Fresnoland<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DSC1162.jpg\")
Katie Wilbur, executive director of RH Community Builders. Pablo Orihuela | Fresnoland<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DSC1161.jpg\")
A resident of the 4080 N Blackstone facility watches over Friday\u2019s news conference between the city and county. Residents watched along from the balcony and from the ground level Pablo Orihuela | Fresnoland<\/p>\n