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Letter to the community from Dr. Rebecca Irelan of Eureka First United Methodist Church:

Are you concerned that so many of our fellow citizens are unhoused? What if there was something you as an individual could do about it? Would you?

I write to tell you about the 100-Day Challenge. No, it is not an exercise program or a diet plan. From the Governor’s office comes this description: “100-day challenges are part of a growing national movement to prevent and end homelessness, developed through the Rapid Results Institute in coordination with the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. Through these efforts, communities have undertaken the challenge of working together across systems to collaborate, innovate, and execute to create a coordinated community response to end homelessness.”

Humboldt County received grant funding to train staff from local government and nonprofit agencies to work together. Good people from Uplift Eureka, Cooperation Humboldt, Nation’s Finest, the Humboldt County Office of Education, Jefferson Community Center, and the Salvation Army have been meeting since July, and we have set a goal to house 25 homeless families (parents or guardians and their children) in 100 days.

Our job is to work across bureaucratic boundaries to identify families in dire need of housing and to convince landlords to rent to them. While many others are also in need, we have chosen to focus on families with children, for whom the trauma of homelessness can have lifelong negative effects. Humboldt County is #2 in the state for childhood trauma, and that is a badge of shame none of us want to wear.

As a faith leader, I am attending these weekly meetings because I have seen the transformation that can take place when one of God’s children finally gets stable housing, especially housing that comes with on-going support from people who care. The families we are trying to house will have support from one of our social service agencies. The landlords who want to make a real difference in a child’s life will get support, too. And, in many cases, families will come with funding from various sources.

Over the last several years, we have learned that in working with unhoused people with a long list of problems and needs, housing must come first. When we add on the supportive services, there is a far better chance that improved physical and mental health, employment and financial stability will follow. Many formerly unhoused people go on to make positive contributions to our community.

If you are (or know of) a kind-hearted, community-minded landlord or the owner of an ADU (accessory dwelling unit), you might be the person who could help a child heal from the past, fully live in the present and prepare for a much brighter future. If you feel that you may be called to this rewarding work of personal and communal transformation and have questions or want more information, contact us at 100daychallengehumboldt@gmail.com or call 707-572-4669.

Rev. Dr. Rebecca Irelan
Eureka First United Methodist Church
520 Del Norte
707-442-3015