Community leaders and residents with lived experience discuss solutions and shortcomings in addressing homelessness
By EMME DUNNING — features@theaggie.org
Homelessness remains a pressing issue for many Californians. More than 180,000 people currently experience homelessness in the state — an increase of 23% since 2019, according to CalMatters and The National Alliance to End Homelessness. The issue of homelessness within Davis, in many ways, reflects this rising trend seen throughout California.
Becky Marigo is one community member trying to make a difference on this issue. Marigo is the program supervisor and case manager for Davis Community Meals and Housing (DCMH), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing the homeless community in Davis, with housing, food and support for long-term stability.
In her time working with DCMH, Marigo has come to understand just how complex the issue of homelessness is and what it truly takes to create lasting change.
“I don’t think folks understand the realities of what goes on with it,” Marigo said. “They think you can provide a house, and everybody’s going to want to change — that’s not it. The change comes from within the person. You need to continue to work with the person, support the person and support their situation. Every situation is different. Unless you’re willing to really deal with the issues at hand with each person, you’re going to have a hard time.”
DCMH employs this relationship-based approach with all of its clients, using the resources they have to sit down with people to understand and address their unique needs and challenges.
Rosa Michelle is a testament to what can happen when this support meets grit and determination. Today, Michelle is stably housed and sober — a reality that for many years felt impossible.
Michelle was born and raised in Woodland, where trauma and instability defined much of her life. It was in Woodland that Michelle found herself unhoused after a long struggle with domestic violence and drug abuse, issues that kept her without stable housing for 30 years.
“Drugs led me to lose my job, lose my home [and] lose my children,” Michelle said. “I ended up going to jail and going to prison.”
For years, Michelle worked to get herself into treatment and support programs, but repeatedly found herself let down by the resources available to her.
“I was in and out of programs,” Michelle said. “I would get all ready, and by the end of my program, there was no help. When we came out, we came out to the streets again. You just ended up back in that cycle, back with the people you used to be around. It was really sad to feel alive again in a program and be clean and be working on yourself, and then they’re like, ‘Okay, your time’s up, you [have] got to go now.’ And there’s nowhere for you to go. If family members don’t have anywhere for you to go or if the shelters are full, it’s devastating.”
Finally, through a referral from a local hospital after a heroin overdose, Michelle was placed in a Medication-Assisted Treatment program, which has brought her three years of sobriety and counting. This made her eligible for one of the sober housing and living facilities that DCMH offers, where she has been living for the past year and a half.
Through their resources and her own perseverance, Michelle now pays her own rent, works a part-time job, volunteers for DCMH and gets to regularly see her children and grandchildren.
“For over 30 years, I didn’t have a job, a car, nothing,” Michelle said. “Now, I have a car and a job, and I’m on [Supplemental Security Income]. I’m happy I have the support now — never in my life did I ever imagine I could accomplish this.”
While the existence of DCMH has been transformative for Michelle, it is far from a perfect solution. Open beds are few and far between, and the clean and sober requirements for their transitional housing can exclude those still grappling with addiction. Their dedicated staff works hard to bridge these gaps, but like many similar organizations, they need more funding to meet the growing demand for services.
Former Mayor Robb Davis is one of several city leaders who have long grappled with the issue of homelessness. These issues were a major focus during his time in office, a passion that has continued into his current role as the assistant director of housing resources at the UC Davis Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center. Davis believes that DCMH is doing important work but emphasized the need for more widespread support, both in terms of personnel and strategy.
“What [the case managers] do is amazing,” Davis said. “But there are two of them. We need 15 or 20 people doing that type of work on a regular basis — not two people who are just run ragged by the sheer magnitude of the problems.”
Davis proposed a system that draws on the same person-first approach of DCMH but incorporates more consistent outreach and coordination in connecting people with services and support.
“We need a pretty structured navigator system,” Davis said. “We need a group of workers who are trained to do constant regular outreach, filling relationships, getting people to their appointments and legal hearings, getting their [medications].”
Davis continued by describing how navigators can help provide transitional support for people while infrastructural developments are in progress.
“Navigators are really about inviting people back into the community,” Davis said. “I think that if we only had that and didn’t even have more rooms, we would be able to help a lot of people make a move off the street. It would be transformative.”
As the city of Davis continues to grapple with its rising unhoused population, advocates hope the city will prioritize more expansive, person-centered infrastructure. Whether that change comes may decide the future for hundreds in the county still waiting for improvements in services.
For additional resources on local support services, visit the websites of Aggie House, Fourth and Hope, the Willow Clinic and the DCMH.
Written by: Emme Dunning — features@theaggie.org
