by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

On Tuesday, the Claremont City Council voted unanimously to allocate the city’s 2025-26 permanent housing allocation program budget of $60,867 to Pomona’s Hope for Home Homeless Services Center.

Of that figure, $43,800 will provide two new emergency shelter beds there while the remaining $17,067 would go to funding shelter services. Per pomonaca.gov, Hope for Home provides occupants with three meals a day; health, substance abuse and mental health services; enrichment and employment sessions; community groups; resource fairs and laundry service. A staff report added it also provides lockers, a mailroom, and a dog kennel.

The funds are tied to 2017’s California Senate Bill 2, which not only set up a $75 recording fee on real estate documents to increase the supply of affordable housing, but also established the permanent housing allocation program, overseen by the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

Funds are allocated to cities and counties to address affordable housing needs. In years past, Claremont has given its permanent housing allocation funds to the San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust.

Claremont Colleges students took issue with the move on Tuesday, arguing it’s up to Claremont to provide resources to aid its homeless population.

“We don’t displace our unhoused members and our unhoused neighbors to Pomona,” said a student named Cameron. “It’s an intentional displacement of the population and Claremont needs to provide solutions for the problem here. They live here.”

Students also urged the council to not lock public bathrooms overnight, and took issue with the city allocating $118,650 to retrofit the police department’s women’s locker room, and $114,807 to upfit eight of its vehicles, saying funds could be better spent on local homeless services.

A homeless man named David expressed concern with allocating money to the Pomona-based shelter. “I’ve been to Hope for Home, twice,” he said. “I found more drugs and more fights in Hope for Home than I have on the streets here in Claremont. So for me, it’s personally not safe to go there because I find more trouble there and more harm than good.”

“Resourcing dollars at Hope for Home is unquestionably a better value for us versus studying and examining capacities to build units here,” council member Jed Leano responded. “We’ll never be able to do anything meaningful with $60,000. That’s just reality.

“That doesn’t mean to say, however, that the concerns of lived experience go unnoticed,” Leano added later.

Mayor Corey Calaycay asked staff to clarify two points: if permanent housing allocation funds could be used for providing homeless persons with motel vouchers good for a limited stay at a local lodge, and if it was a common practice for the city to relocate homeless persons out of Claremont and into Pomona.

Michelle Castillo, management analyst with the city’s Recreation and Human Services Department, said vouchers were a possibility.

“It is an option; however, practice in the City of Claremont is a motel stay may be just a quick Band-Aid,” Castillo said. “We do have a small fund that we have utilized. It’s a steppingstone to get people into another service or another more permanent or overnight housing, so maybe going into a shelter or going into a recuperative care facility. It can be used for that.”

City Manager Adam Pirrie clarified the city’s practice on relocating homeless persons.

“When we are in a position to offer a bed because it’s available, we do so to unhoused members of the community in Claremont on a completely voluntary basis,” Pirrie said. “They can take us up on that offer to go to Hope for Home in Pomona and we’ll assist with transportation. And if they … need to come back for any reason, we assist them with that as well. I want to make it clear that it’s also completely voluntary. We don’t force anybody to leave town.”

Asked what the Claremont Police Department does in terms of homeless outreach, Captain Mike Ciszek highlighted its homeless outreach services team, or HOST. Cizek said HOST officers contacted some eight homeless persons on February 21 and offered them nearby resources. He added it’s difficult to convince some to get services as, “they like being free.” Calaycay said two homeless people recently contacted by HOST were able to find housing.

The mayor also said he’s looking for ways to revive the Claremont Homeless Advocacy Program, a local shelter program that was dissolved during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Claremont City Council’s next meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 11 at 225 W. Second St., Claremont. Agendas are posted at claremontca.gov.