Make Room for Hope: Your Gift. Double the Difference.
As winter approaches, Safe Space Chico launches a $300,000 fundraising campaign to sustain essential services, with donations matched dollar for dollar up to $5,000.
There is something powerful about knowing you have somewhere to go. For our unhoused neighbors, that certainty is anything but guaranteed. A warm room on a freezing night, a familiar face offering help, or the assurance that someone will be there tomorrow can make the difference between remaining in crisis and finding a way forward.
At Safe Space Chico, we’ve seen what becomes possible when people have access to that kind of support. We’ve also learned that providing it consistently requires far more than good intentions. Today, we’re asking our community to help sustain that commitment.
Preparing for Winter. Protecting Public Health.
Safe Space Chico faces a $300,000 operating shortfall this fiscal year. With winter approaching, addressing that gap is especially urgent. These funds support the staffing, facilities, and daily operations necessary to keep essential services available to our neighbors.
According to NOAA’s October 2026 winter outlook, a strong El Niño is expected to influence weather patterns this winter, although its effects in Northern California remain uncertain. What is certain is the danger of prolonged exposure to cold and wet conditions. The CDC warns that hypothermia can occur even above 40°F when someone becomes chilled by rain or moisture.
This is where shelter becomes prevention. Providing immediate refuge before a medical emergency occurs is a practical public health intervention. So is ensuring that people have consistent access to support rather than waiting until their circumstances become critical.
Preparing for winter requires more than finding a place to open our doors. It means securing adequate staffing, coordinating host sites, preparing supplies, and ensuring that the people who depend on us aren’t left wondering whether help will be available when conditions become dangerous.
Your Gift. Double the Difference.
A generous supporter has pledged to match donations to our Make Room for Hope campaign, dollar for dollar, up to $5,000. Your $50 can become $100. Your $250 can become $500. When our community contributes $5,000 in eligible gifts, the matching commitment will bring that total to $10,000 toward sustaining our operations.
With winter approaching and $5,000 in matching funds available, there is no better time to invest in the work our community depends on. Give today and double the difference.
Making Room for Hope
Every winter, local congregations make room in their buildings, volunteers rearrange their schedules, and neighbors contribute what they can to ensure people have somewhere safe to sleep. That generosity has sustained Safe Space Chico for years. Now we’re asking our community to help sustain the people and resources behind it.
Our financial challenge is significant, but so is the value of what we’re working to preserve. We cannot predict every challenge the coming winter will bring. What we can do is prepare to meet those challenges, protect our neighbors from preventable harm, and remain a dependable source of support when circumstances become difficult.
Hope isn’t a promise that circumstances will improve overnight. It’s the knowledge that someone will still be there tomorrow, ready to help.
That’s what we’re asking our community to sustain.
Your Gift. Double the Difference.
We live under the same sky.
One Extra Item Can Help a Neighbor
Helping a neighbor can start with something ordinary: one extra item in the grocery cart.
The Chico Food Project makes that idea easy to put into practice. Participants collect nonperishable groceries in reusable blue bags. Volunteers pick them up six times a year, leave an empty bag for next time, and deliver the food to local pantries.
The project’s published calendar lists Saturday, December 12, 2026, as its next collection day. That leaves time to join and gradually put a bag together.
Those groceries support several local organizations, including the Chico Food Locker, the Jesus Center, and Chico State’s Hungry Wildcat Food Pantry. The university also identifies the Chico Food Project as one of the sources that helps keep its pantry stocked for students and staff facing food insecurity.
If an extra grocery purchase fits your budget, this is a manageable way to contribute. People who would rather give time can ask about helping collect and transport bags. The project estimates that pickup work takes about two hours every other month.
To request a blue bag or learn about volunteering, visit chicofoodproject.org or call 530-230-7232.
There is value in making help something we can keep doing. A few groceries, collected regularly and delivered where they are needed, are a practical place to start.
Chico's Camping Ordinances, Shelter Access, and Public Health: Where Can People Go?
On October 6, the Chico City Council voted 5–2 against proposed changes to the city's camping and public nuisance ordinances. The proposals included allowing misdemeanor charges for camping violations and removing certain restrictions related to shelter availability. For Safe Space Chico, the discussion underscores something we see through our work every day: public safety and public health cannot be addressed separately when people have nowhere safe to go.
The debate comes as the Warren settlement approaches its January 14, 2027, expiration, potentially changing how Chico addresses encampments and enforcement. As North State Public Radio reported (https://www.mynspr.org/news/2026-10-07/chico-rejects-tougher-rules-targeting-homeless-encampments-for-now), councilmembers expressed differing views on enforcement and the resources needed to address homelessness. Councilmember Mike O'Brien advocated for stronger enforcement, stating, "We need to bring back accountability starting in January to bring balance and sanity to this issue." Councilmember Addison Winslow raised concerns about enforcement without accessible alternatives, warning, "This is setting us up for a situation where we’re running people out of areas with nowhere else to go."
Maintaining safe public spaces and ensuring access to shelter are both important responsibilities. There are also potential financial implications. In an October 6 letter to the City Council (https://chicosol.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/10-6-26-City-Council-Agenda-Item-5.1-LSNC-Comment-Letter.pdf), Legal Services of Northern California warned that certain provisions could jeopardize Chico's eligibility for state Encampment Resolution Funding, citing concerns about notice requirements and shelter access. This was a legal assessment, not a determination that funding had been lost. According to ChicoSol (https://chicosol.org/2026/10/07/ridiculous-chico-councilmembers-clash-over-anti-camping-ordinances/), council leadership requested separate consideration of the proposals and additional information about their funding implications. NSPR reports that the proposals are expected to return at the October 20 meeting.
Homelessness is a public health issue with consequences that extend well beyond where someone sleeps. People living outside face increased exposure to extreme temperatures, illness, injury, and worsening chronic conditions. Displacement can further disrupt access to healthcare, outreach, and essential services. Accessible shelter helps reduce these risks while creating opportunities for longer-term stability.
Safe Space Chico sees that need firsthand. During our 2025–26 winter shelter season, we provided 3,135 guest nights of refuge. Our 2026 Cooling Center operations served more than 320 unduplicated individuals during periods of dangerous heat. These figures demonstrate the importance of immediate protection, but shelter capacity alone does not guarantee access.
Eligibility requirements, referral procedures, transportation, and mobility limitations can prevent someone from obtaining shelter even when vacancies exist. The City of Chico's shelter availability information (https://chicoca.gov/City-Services/Housing--Homelessness/Shelter-Bed-Availability/index.html)notes that certain programs require assessments and referrals, with wait times potentially extending several weeks. For someone facing dangerous weather or an immediate health concern, those delays matter.
Safe Space's low-barrier approach addresses these challenges by providing immediate refuge alongside street outreach, CARE services, and case management. Our programs maintain a Code of Conduct, trained staff oversight, and clear expectations for safety and respect. Reducing barriers does not mean eliminating accountability; it means making essential services accessible to people whose circumstances might otherwise prevent them from receiving help.
Immediate refuge also creates opportunities for longer-term support. When people have access to basic necessities and consistent contact with staff, they're better positioned to address health concerns, engage with case management, and pursue housing resources. That continuity benefits the individuals receiving services and the broader community.
As Chico considers its next steps, enforcement, shelter access, and funding should be evaluated together. An ordinance can determine where camping is permitted, but it cannot independently create shelter capacity or address the health risks associated with homelessness. Safe Space Chico supports safe, accessible public spaces and practical opportunities for people experiencing homelessness to find refuge and support. These responsibilities are not mutually exclusive.
Housing is public health, and shelter is part of the infrastructure that protects it. As Chico considers its next steps, Safe Space will continue providing immediate refuge and access to services. The measure of an effective response to homelessness should include not only how public spaces are managed, but whether people have realistic opportunities to move toward safety, health, and stability.
For current shelter availability and intake information, visit the City of Chico's Housing & Homelessness resources (https://chicoca.gov/City-Services/Housing--Homelessness/). To learn more about our work, visit Safe Space Chico's seasonal shelter services (https://www.safespacechico.org/seasonal-shelter-services).
National Good Neighbor Day
Celebrating National Good Neighbor Day
National Good Neighbor Day is a reminder that strong communities are built by people showing up for one another.
Here at Safe Space Chico, that sometimes means rolling up our sleeves and getting to work. Volunteers came together for a cleanup day to help make our space cleaner, safer, and more welcoming for the people we serve.
It may not be glamorous work, but it matters. Every bag picked up, every surface cleaned, and every helping hand is part of taking care of our community — and each other.
Thank you to everyone who showed up, pitched in, and helped make a difference.
Good neighbors make stronger communities.
A Place to Pause, Rest, and Reconnect
At Safe Space Chico, sometimes the most important thing we can offer is simple: a safe place to be.
For people experiencing homelessness, everyday tasks can become difficult when there is nowhere comfortable to sit, cool down, warm up, charge a phone, get information, or simply take a break. A welcoming space can make those small things possible again.
Safe Space Chico is part of a larger community effort to connect people with practical help, reliable information, and the services available throughout Chico and Butte County. No single organization can meet every need, and we don’t try to. Good community support depends on people and organizations working together and helping guests find the next useful step.
That might mean learning where to get a meal, finding transportation information, connecting with health or housing resources, or simply having a quiet moment before figuring out what comes next.
We’re also grateful for the volunteers, donors, partner organizations, and neighbors who help make this work possible. Community support doesn’t always look dramatic. Often it’s a meal prepared, a shift covered, supplies donated, information shared, or one person taking the time to listen.
We’ll use this blog to share updates from Safe Space Chico, information about our programs, volunteer opportunities, community resources, and occasional stories about the work happening around us.
Thank you for being part of a community that believes everyone deserves dignity, safety, and a place to belong.
— Safe Space Chico