Bellflower Council directs staff to negotiate scaled plan for New Hope shelter, urges county funding and outreach partnerships

The Bellflower City Council on Aug. 25 heard reports from Kingdom Causes Bellflower and Mercy House about services tied to the New Hope temporary shelter and gave staff direction to negotiate a scaled contract and continue pursuing county and state funding rather than abruptly closing the program.

The discussion followed a presentation by Andrew Sanicless, executive director of Kingdom Causes Bellflower, and program and outcome data from Mercy House. Council members pressed staff on shelter capacity, outcomes and county support as the operator contract approaches expiration.

“The city of Bellflower is 1, our strongest partners,” Andrew Sanicless said, describing Kingdom Causes’ programs. “Our mission is to mobilize the community and provide transformative services so that all of our neighbors have a place to live, work, and belong.” He told the council Kingdom Causes runs housing navigation, a transitional home (Margaret’s House), job-placement work through Good Soil Industries and a community center that provides hygiene, ID and utility-assistance services.

Timothy Wynn, chief program officer at Mercy House, described shelter performance and exits. “132 unduplicated folks were served in New Hope in the last fiscal year,” Wynn said, and Mercy House recorded 96 exits from the shelter in that period, 44 of which the operator categorized as successful housing placements. Mercy House reported that 46% of exits in the most recent year were to housing or subsidies—a rise Mercy…