Oroville leaders hear calls to support mobile hygiene program serving unhoused residents

Pastor Kevin Thompson and organizers of the Haven of Hope on Wheels presented the program to the Oroville City Council on Jan. 21, seeking a formal partnership and support to expand mobile hygiene services to three locations in Oroville.

Council members and dozens of public speakers described the program as an on-the-ground service that provides showers, laundry and wraparound referrals to people experiencing homelessness. Presenters asked the city to help the nonprofit identify sustainable funding and partnership options rather than for an immediate guaranteed city subsidy.

The City Council opened the meeting to a long sequence of public comments from program volunteers, partner agencies and people who said they had been served by the shower trucks. Courtney (presenter) described daily operations: five 40-foot trailers outfitted with showers, toilets and stackable washer-dryer units; the program operates three days a week in proposed locations and staff said typical site throughput is about 25–30 showers and roughly 10 laundry loads per day. Presenters said Haven of Hope served at least 68 people across two Oroville locations and cited county figures that put the Butte County unhoused count at about 1,237 and Oroville’s unhoused population at about 214.

Several speakers offered personal testimony. Vanessa, who identified herself as the woman in the group’s video presentation, told the council: “Without this program, I don't know where I would even be today.” Multiple nonprofit leaders — including representatives from United Way of Northern California, Butte County United and the Greater Oroville Homeless Coalition — described working with the program to provide food, navigation and other services at shower sites.

Council reaction was broadly supportive but cautious about committing city general-fund dollars. Councilman Sean Weber and others urged staff to pursue grant and partnership options; Councilman Reynolds noted liability limits when the city partners directly and emphasized the city’s general-fund constraints. City staff and council agreed by consensus to pursue potential external funding and partnerships, to include the recent contract for state and federal lobbyists in conversations about grant opportunities, and to have staff return with options. Mayor and city staff also told presenters that the recorded presentation would be useful material for grant applications.

No ordinance or direct funding was approved; the council’s action was to direct staff to explore and report back on grant, partnership and other funding options and to coordinate with the city’s newly retained lobbyists.

Speakers quoted in this article spoke during the Oroville City Council meeting on Jan. 21, 2025. The city will not be allocating general-fund emergency dollars without separate, explicit council action.