Housing Department

Summary Description of CAA Housing Department

Merced County CAA (CAP) Housing Services, with State and Federal Grants and the generosity of the community, has been addressing the needs of the homeless since 1987. Although no accurate data exists as to the number of homeless in Merced County, the rate of usage at the shelters has increased annually since we took over the program. Our work in housing and homeless services receives no city or county funding and State and Federal dollars continue to remain stagnant. With the new administration in Washington D.C., we expect more competition for the money we currently receive. President Bush would like faith-based organizations to be able to compete for the very limited federal dollars for homeless programs. We believe that our vast experience, extensive working relationships with community partners, and a very high customer count will allow this to be of little threat locally, but we still are concerned and plan to continue to write competitive grant applications and provide excellent customer service.

In 1987, MCCAP began helping families with eviction prevention, deposit/rental assistance, temporary motel vouchers and a cold weather shelter for homeless singles. In 1991, we opened our first year-round shelter, Havenwood, an emergency shelter for women and women with children twelve and under. In 1993, we opened New Hope House; a transitional shelter for families with children, married couples and single male families. Additionally, Housing operates a cold weather shelter between December and April for single adults.

In the past decade the homeless population utilizing shelters in Merced County has more than doubled. With the upcoming UC Merced we expect another 20% increase by the year 2005. In an effort to meet the increasing demand, MCCAP has expanded and will continue to expand its services whenever possible. In May 2001, we opened a full-service day shelter for the homeless living on the streets. The services include showers, laundry, telephones, computer access and a message and mail service. We know that this is not enough. People need a place to sleep at night where they can feel secure and stay out of the elements. Our goal for the future is to build a year-round shelter for singles. In 2000, housing provided over 7,000 shelter bed nights, with over 8,000 meals served. A 29% increase over the previous year. The following list shows the number of unduplicated homeless clients served in the last 4 years.

1998 325 unduplicated clients
1999 509 unduplicated clients (55% increase)
2000 661 unduplicated clients (29% increase)
2001 692 unduplicated clients (5% increase)

In 2002, the CAA Housing Department operates the following programs:

CAP Housing Customer Services

In 2002 CAA Housing offers emergency shelter, and transitional shelter year round. These shelters are open 365 days per year from 4:00 pm to 9:00 am. The cold weather shelter is operated 110 days per year from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am. These shelters provide beds, meals and showers. The C.O.T.S. Day center is open M-F from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm., offering showers, laundry, mail and message service, computers and shelter from the elements during the day. Homeless Prevention Funds are offered in the form of a one-time cash payment to place the homeless in permanent housing, or to maintain current housing. This program is available on an on going basis until all funds are spent from the funding grant. All programs are designed to be a temporary fix to alleviate the discomforts associated with homelessness, while attempting to place the customers in permanent, long-term housing.

Emergency Shelter

Havenwood Homeless Shelter

Contact Us:
Housing Department
1414 R St.
Merced. CA 95340
(209) 725-8188