Vallejo to pay unhoused people to assist with long-term strategy on homelessness

VALLEJO – The Vallejo City Council voted Tuesday to start paying unhoused people stipends to assist with creating future policy decisions around homelessness.

The council voted 5-1, with Councilmember Alexander Matias absent and Vice Mayor Peter Bregenzer opposed, to approve paying $1,000 stipends to people who testify about their experience and advise on future programs, according to assistant to the city manager Natalie Peterson. However, it was not clear how many people might be awarded this stipend, as a policy for use of the stipends needs to be drafted next.

The decision came on the same night as a report from Peterson on homelessness in Vallejo. Following the biennial homeless point in time count in January, Peterson said that preliminary counts reflect a possible 33% decrease in unhoused people. This could be due to encampments being more spread out following many enforcement actions by the city, and fewer large congregated camps, she added. The county number has also likely decreased, perhaps due to new shelter and resource options, Peterson said.

Bregenzer said he did not approve of the $1,000 stipend plan, calling it “wishy washy” and “a slippery slope.” However, Councilmember Helen-Marie “Cookie” Gordon said she thought the stipend was important to compensate people for providing their lived experience to officials. 

Some people who spoke during public comment disagreed with the plan. Resident Melvin Cohen said that unhoused people should inform policy and get appropriately compensated for it, but criticized the lack of clarity around how the stipend process will work.

“The issue isn't whether living experience should be compensated,” Cohen said. “The issue is whether it would be structurally integrated into the decision making. If this is done well, this would not just compensate for participation, it will improve policy.”

Speaker Sally Griffith said that, as someone who has been unhoused in the county, compensation would help people like her be part of building solutions which affect her. 

“Vallejo tends to pick and choose the voices of people to fit their needs,” Griffith said. “The narrative the city puts out for our community members who are still struggling to find stability… affects the way that we’re treated.”

Councilmember Tonia Lediju said she wants staff to bring forward a complete homelessness strategy, which the council has been waiting on. City staff have been working on a new funding plan after the council split in December over how to pay for it. 

In 2024, the city approved RDA Consulting to handle the suggested plan. The firm began reviewing the city’s handling of homelessness, current programs and the latest housing element. The city said it would craft the plan last year after various community members called for transparent investment in better handling homelessness, including with encampment sweeps and how people are directed to services and shelter. 

Lediju said that she wants to see this plan soon, especially given ongoing issues in some areas such as White Slough. City Attorney Veronica Nebb said that the city has filed three lawsuits against unhoused people in White Slough, asking them to clean up and vacate, which the residents seem unlikely to be able to pay for. 

Nebb suggested that the council could use city funds to handle a clean up on its own, given the financial issues of the unhoused people there. The estimated daily cost of staff time for trash pick-up at such encampments is $1,930, according to Peterson’s report, with a recent nine-day trash cleanup costing an estimated $17,377.

Peterson also provided several other updates. The council in January approved a warming center to be operated at the current navigation center through March, which she said has been helping about three to seven people each evening. Peterson added that staff are finalizing an agreement with SolTrans to provide free bus rides to people going to and leaving the center.

Peterson also said that in a recent strategizing meeting, the Solano Integrated Outreach Team, a county team tasked with outreach to unhoused residents, did not commit to a full plan for coordinated outreach efforts at encampments. 

“They also stated that with limited housing/shelter availability, getting people into housing isn’t a reality at this point,” she reported. “They did say that with increased funding there are other services that they can offer or there may be potential for increased outreach.”

Barbara Simpson with the Solano Integrated Outreach Team spoke in public comment rebutting Peterson’s report, which she said was “misinformation” about the team’s discussions with city staff. She said the team has conducted weeklong outreach efforts since homeless encampment enforcements were paused in January to complete the point in time count, and that she sent proof of outreach to Peterson. 

However, resident Anne Carr said in public comment that she thinks that the county has underserved the homeless population in terms of outreach.

“There seems to be an approach of expecting the unhoused to connect with Resource Connect Solano during very limited office hours, in person or calling to make an appointment, which I think is unrealistic,” Carr said.