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 House characterized as a marked improvement.

Council members and staff discussed capacity and turnover: the shelter has 50 beds but occupancy this year averaged roughly mid-30s on many nights; bed turnover and annual “unduplicated” counts mean more than 50 people can be served in a year even if the nightly census is smaller. Mercy House noted a small number of long-term residents had skewed some average length-of-stay metrics and said focused case work had reduced the number of clients with stays over 180 days to three as of the most recent counts.

City staff and the city attorney reviewed legal context. The city attorney told the council the U.S. Supreme Court decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson effectively removed the earlier legal obligation that had informed the city’s original settlement (and Judge Carter’s order) requiring a local shelter in order to enforce nuisance laws. “Legally, no. Practically, yes. I really try to avoid the wrath of a federal judge,” the city attorney said, explaining the city could change course but would coordinate with the court and regional partners on any material change.

Council members emphasized competing goals: many said the city must keep some level of shelter capacity and outreach in place while looking to lower net costs and increase effectiveness. Council member Victor Sanchez summarized that stance: “For me, we need to continue providing shelter beds,” he said, while also urging more outreach to get people into existing beds and county help to cover operating costs.

On funding, staff said the city has been pursuing several county and state funding streams. City staff reported an estimated ~$1.36 million in potential county grants and an additional ~$400,000 from a Measure A local solutions pool under discussion; the city also has requested county assistance toward acquiring the property used for New Hope. Staff cautioned some outside funds come with conditions (for example minimum bed counts) and that county grant administration language (substitution/subplantation rules) remains under negotiation.

Council direction and next steps: without a formal roll-call vote the council agreed in direction that staff should (a) negotiate a revised, scalable operating agreement with Mercy House (staff to explore a lower baseline bed count such as ~30–35 with the ability to scale back up if outreach increases demand), (b) continue active pursuit of county and state funding and support for acquisition and operations, and (c) pursue stronger local outreach partnerships (including Kingdom Causes Bellflower) and coordination with the newly budgeted BEAST (Bellflower Enforcement and Safety Team) to improve referrals into shelter beds. City staff said Mercy House’s current contract for New Hope expires in about 30 days and that an interim arrangement or short-term extension will be needed while negotiations proceed.

Council members and community members repeatedly asked for clearer performance metrics and follow-up reporting; staff said contract negotiations and any interim agreements would return to council for approval. Multiple council members urged that if cost savings are found those funds should be routed to outreach, mental-health or enforcement resources tied to the broader homelessness strategy rather than returned to general reserves.

Community voices at the meeting reflected a mix of support for shelter services and frustration with street-level public-safety issues. Kingdom Causes leaders and Mercy House highlighted placements and program growth; several residents and business owners urged tougher enforcement for repeat offenders, faster sheriff response to complaints and clearer ways for businesses and neighbors to document chronic problems.

Staff said next steps will include drafting a revised operating agreement for council review, continuing negotiations with Mercy House for any transition or interim contract, pursuing county funding and presenting budget/revenue options to the council. The council did not adopt a final closure or expansion plan that evening but directed staff to pursue the steps above and return with proposals and necessary contract documents.

Ending: The council’s guidance preserves New Hope’s operations while shifting the emphasis to negotiating costs and expanding outreach coordination with Kingdom Causes and county partners. The matter will return to the council for contract action and budget approvals once staff completes negotiations and funding discussions.