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Del Norte County Planning Commission finally approves Use Permit for Our Daily Bread Ministries

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By Donna Westfall – July 6, 2017 –

With four  out of five commissioners present at Wednesday nights Planning meeting, July 5th,  agenda item number 4E listed: PUBLIC HEARING – OUR DAILY BREAD MINISTRIES – Use Permit for a Quasi-Public Use (Rescue Mission) – UP1713 – APN 117-101-03 located at 1135 Harrold Street, Crescent City.

In a 3-1 vote, with Ralph Dickey voting NO, the use permit was approved.

The common problem with setting up homeless shelters or in this case a Rescue Mission is that no one wants them in their own backyard commonly referred to a NIMBY = Not in My Back Yard.

It can reduce property values because who wants homeless hanging around their neighborhoods with the corresponding messes left in bushes, theft, shopping carts, urinating and defecating.

Mike Justice, Director of Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODBM) has been open to the homeless for the last 10 years.  ” We serve three hot dinners a week and breakfast is served on our other two weekdays.  Our building is used for Christian 12 step group; we offer an anger management class and daily morning Bible studies, a free life recovery group that meets three days a week facilitated by a professional counselor, nightly prayer meetings for the community and a successful discipleship program.  Our goal is to break the mindset of entitlement and teach empowerment.  We have seen many lives transformed!”

They don’t allow anyone to hang around the building after meals.  During inclement weather, they have had all night movies playing for those that want to get in out of the rain and cold.

By issuing a conditional use permit, this allows ODBM to legally take in over two dozen people per night.  They also provide access to showers, free clothing, shoes, hygenic items as well as tents and sleeping bags if they are available..

 

Comments

2 responses to “Del Norte County Planning Commission finally approves Use Permit for Our Daily Bread Ministries”

  1. Nicholas Maietta Avatar
    Nicholas Maietta

    Wonderful news!

    Donna, could you work on getting an official statement from Ralph Dickey as to why they voted no? I would like to see that available for public inspection. I want to know why they felt like voting against it. Is it because Ralph Dickey currently lives at on Douglas Street, just 1 and a half city blocks from the Mission? The NIMBY argument seems valid here.

    Ironically the Mission has never been the reason for the low property values. It’s the mere fact that the area is sandwiched between two highways and mixed in near vacant lands, several burned down structures and has been home to many meth-houses over the years. The Mission has actually been one of the very few improvements in that section of town over the last 20-30 years.

    Donna, even you set a good example for making due in a bad area. You live in a not great area, but you improved your home. You could have chosen not to, but being in town has it’s advantages. I remember what hell hole that house used to be, how run down it was before you bought it. You did a great job on the place, giving it a nice driveway and a new face. Maybe Ralph and his neighbors can see that you did it, so why can’t they?

    Reply
  2. Jesse Davis Avatar
    Jesse Davis

    This is great news and positive development for the community as many of these kinds of services are best run by private groups and funded by voluntary donors. I hope that the planning commission and the B.O.S. will do everything legally possible to help reduce the costs of the project. It is good use of government to participate in public development of things like sidewalks, drainage, and landscape especially when the project supports non-profit charity.

    Reply

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