The city of Rohnert Park is celebrating the successful transition of nearly three-quarters of the population of a homeless encampment into interim or permanent housing after the last resident of a safe sleeping program left and the site was officially closed, city officials said Thursday. 

The city worked in conjunction with the Bay Area nonprofit HomeFirst, which assists unhoused individuals and families with attaining stable housing. 

The safe sleeping program occupied the Roberts Lake Park and Ride area and provided safer camping for homeless residents by providing 24/7 security services while advocates worked on transitioning people to housing.  

“These types of programs are important,” said Julian Elliott, director of HomeFirst’s Emergency Housing Division in a release sent out by the city. “The ability to have a place, even in a ‘camping’ setting that is safe from theft, vandalism, and violence, can provide a sense of stability and peace of mind that is so important when looking towards the future.” 

The last resident of the safe sleeping site moved out on Jan. 31, according to the city, which said that between October 2022 and January 2024, 122 individuals were served and 72 percent of them moved into interim or permanent housing. 

Before October 2022, the encampment had been large and unregulated, according to the city. Rohnert Park had OK’d the space in February of that year, but concerns arose about its growing size and worries that it had become a magnet for more unhoused people in the area. 

“The ability to have a place, even in a ‘camping’ setting that is safe from theft, vandalism, and violence, can provide a sense of stability and peace of mind that is so important when looking towards the future.”  Julian Elliott, director of HomeFirst’s Emergency Housing Division

In fall of 2022, the city began barring any new residents from setting up camp and required anyone wishing to remain to register with the city. Quiet and visiting hours were imposed and residents were provided with 10-by-10-foot tents.  

Some park and ride residents moved to temporary housing at Labath Landing, a 60-unit interim housing structure in Rohnert Park paid for in part by state Homekey funding and Sonoma County’s Measure O, which is a quarter-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2020 that provides funding for mental health and homelessness services. 

According to the city, Rohnert Park had 210 unhoused individuals in last year’s Point-In-Time Count, which takes an annual census of homelessness. 

“This number reflects a 43% decline in the city’s homelessness from 2022 and highlights the successes of the city’s innovative initiatives to address homelessness,” said the city. 

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.