A word from David Welch...Democratic Action Club of Chico, Chair:
We are calling on all good Democrats to contact the Chico City Council to demand real solutions to our shelter crisis, not sloganeering.
Mayor Coolidge has made some statements that give lip service to the idea of solutions but appear to have little substance behind them.  If we want any meaningful progress in the shelter crisis, now is the time to keep the pressure on, and we need your help to do that.
The conservatives were able to weaponize the presence of many unhoused people in our community and turn that into a winning issue in the November election. Now they are facing the reality that simplistic slogans are not an effective strategy for governing.
There is no simple solution for the shelter crisis in Chico. The reality of homelessness is complex and multi-faceted and requires a range of real policy actions to solve. A cruel, punitive approach based on more intense policing and the criminalization of poverty will not work.

Nobody wants to see tents and piles of trash in our parks and greenways.

But, evicting people from those spaces—and confiscating the belongings that keep them alive—is not the answer. People forced out of the parks will end up in residential neighborhoods.  Or the hospital.  Or the morgue.
We need:

• A low barrier shelter solution

• A sanctioned, legal campground with toilets and trash collection

• Comprehensive mental health and addiction services

• Low cost workforce housing

PLEASE take a few minutes to contact the council today. Tell them we need real solutions, not cheap slogans.
Here’s how to do it:
Go to this page https://chico.ca.us/members-council on the city website. There, you can send emails to each of the council members individually or a single email to the city clerk that will reach all of them.
OR:  Use the Engaged Chico website that the council has created for citizen participation. This site is not terribly easy to use but we need to change the narrative and break the right-wing’s domination of it that has gone on for too long. Here’s how you do it: The site is here:  https://chico-ca.granicusideas.com/. (If you are using it for the first time, go to the top right of the page and “sign up” to create an account there.)
Next: Look down the right side of the page to find the upcoming council meeting.  Clicking on that brings up the agenda for the next council meeting. If there is an item on the agenda you want to comment on, there will be a “comment” button under that item. If you want to make a more general comment, look for “business from the floor” right after the consent agenda and click on the comment button there—that’s for topics NOT on the agenda for that meeting. The length allowed is short, so keep your comment to a single subject and keep it brief and clear. 
To live in a community that we are proud of we cannot stand on the sidelines. Democracy is not a spectator sport. We all need to be more vocal than we have been. Please contact the City Council to share these demands today! 
Letters to the editor are also useful.  letters@chicoer.com  Keep it clear and simple.  There is a 250 word limit and letters must be signed and include a phone number for verification.  The good, caring people of our community need to make our voices heard.