El Cajon Parish, Mayor Reach Temporary Compromise on Homeless Shelter

November 5, 2002

EL CAJON, California – As a midnight deadline approached on October 29, Mark Lewis, the mayor of El Cajon, California, and the Rev. John Conrad, the rector of St. Alban's Episcopal Church in El Cajon, were able to work out a tentative plan for homeless people camped on the church's property. As a result, a news conference and candlelight vigil, originally scheduled as protests, became, as Conrad put it, "more Easter than Good Friday."

There are no services for homeless people in El Cajon, a small city near San Diego. An earlier, non-binding resolution by the city council had not resulted in action toward creating a shelter for these people.

The people of St. Alban's made a commitment to help the homeless in the city early in the summer. To date, most of their efforts have run afoul of city government and their neighbors. Efforts to provide toilet facilities and to allow people to camp on a vacant lot next to the church have generated complaints from neighbors and threats of legal action by the city.

On October 22, the city council voted to give St. Alban's one week to remove the homeless people camped on the property or face legal action, including the threat of revocation of the conditional use permit that allows the church to operate. At that time, some 12 to 15 people were camped on the lot in tents, using a portable toilet supplied by the church.

Over the next week, the camp occupancy doubled. The campers included several families with small children and two men who used wheelchairs. A second toilet was installed to accommodate their needs. The camp was kept clean and orderly but still dismayed many neighbors.

At noon on October 29, Lewis visited the camp and church to discuss the situation with Conrad. During their conversation, they worked out a plan for the future. Lewis would advocate allowing a temporary shelter to be installed either at St. Alban's or on another vacant lot, and St. Alban's would commit to the running of a shelter this winter. Tentative plans included the use of portable buildings similar to the portable classrooms used in many local schools. The shelter would include services designed to assist guests to find permanent homes, jobs, medical treatment and other necessities for transitioning away from life on the streets. This would provide a temporary solution, allowing the city more time to design, fund and create a permanent regional center for the homeless.

Lewis called this "a win-win situation that meets the needs of the community, the neighbors, downtown merchants, the church, and the homeless." Conrad declared, "I prayed from midnight till morning that something like this would happen."

The city council, where the mayor has one vote in five, must still approve the actions and some opposition is expected when they meet on November 12. Until then, the city attorney is bound by the October 22 vote to seek legal action against the church for not complying with the request that the homeless camp be removed. The people of St. Alban's have promised to continue to care for the campers until a shelter is in place for them.

Conrad estimates that the temporary shelter will cost approximately $600,000 for the first year. He pledged 1 percent of St. Alban's budget and 1 percent of his salary toward the effort and called on other churches in the city, other Episcopal churches in the Diocese of San Diego, and the city of El Cajon to pledge 1 percent of their budgets toward the effort. Conrad has raised $10,000 by emailing local Episcopal clergy. Donations to assist may be made to the St. Alban's HELP Fund, Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, 2728 Sixth Ave., San Diego, California 92103.

Episcopal News Service