Auburn Homeless Shelter Gets New Operator

AUBURN (CBS13) - The Gathering Inn will soon take over operating Placer County's temporary homeless shelter in North Auburn- which goes against a recommendation by the panel who evaluated all of the proposals.

That panel suggested keeping the Volunteers of America as the shelter operators.  The Board of Supervisors didn't accept that recommendation and voted to award the contract to Roseville-based The Gathering Inn- which already provides emergency shelter services in south Placer County.

Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery cited a community push to change how the shelter is operated, saying: "We need to listen to the community's voice and make a change, in the hope that everyone will continue to focus on the issue at hand: serving our homeless individuals and achieving better outcomes for them and for our communities. We cannot do this alone, and we cannot do this by being fragmented."

The temporary homeless shelter opened in North Auburn in June 2015. It can house 100 people at a time and provides them support services in order to help them become self-sufficient. In 2017 it served more than 300 people.

The final contract between The Gathering Inn and Placer County needs to be negotiated and finalized.

In 2012 The Gathering Inn temporarily closed after running out of funding.