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Delano nonprofit asks city for one-year contract to keep Navigation Center open
Summary
Flood Ministries and partner agencies told the Delano City Council they need a one-year sole-source contract or other city funding to keep the Delano Navigation Center open after state and federal grants expired at the end of June.
Joe Wheeler, executive director of Flood Ministries, asked the Delano City Council on June 16 to provide one year of sole-source contract funding so the Delano Navigation Center can remain open while the nonprofit seeks new grants.
Wheeler told the council the Navigation Center opened in July 2021 at the Delano Association for the Developmentally Disabled and that Flood Ministries has “placed over a 100 people in shelters” and “housed over 47 people” from Delano since then. He said the program initially used ESG CARES federal funds and later HAP state funds routed through the county, but that those funding streams have ended and Flood has moved internal funds to stay open only through June 30.
The request, Wheeler said, is for a one-year city contract to bridge to potential future funding, not a multiyear commitment: “I’m not asking for 3 years of funding. I’m just asking for… funding for 1 year while we go out and try to… find some other funding to help, stay open.”
Carlos Herrera of Hope in the Valley and Destiny Gary, a Flood Ministries worker, told the council they have seen direct client impacts from a possible closure: Herrera described an individual the team helped secure a job in Los Angeles, and Gary said clients are “afraid” about losing access to showers, laundry, hygiene kits and meals served by the Navigation Center from 4 to 9 p.m. She warned that loss of those services could become a public-health concern.
Resident Suzanne Villar urged the council to preserve the Navigation Center and said the community values the services it provides. Wheeler named partnerships with Clinica Sierra Vista and other homeless-service providers that use the Navigation Center as part of outreach and treatment referrals.
No formal council action on the request was recorded during public comment; councilmembers did not make a motion to award a contract on the night of June 16. Wheeler said he had discussed ARPA and other funding options with city staff and specifically mentioned City Manager Maribel in his remarks.
The council’s consent and regular agenda items proceeded after public comment; item 20 was tabled to a future meeting, per the mayor’s announcement.
The Navigation Center ask ties to continuing debates in many cities about how to use limited local funds to sustain homelessness services after state and federal grants sunset. Flood Ministries asked only for a one-year bridge so it can continue services while pursuing other grants and partnerships.
