The Rohnert Park People Services Center provides counseling, housing placement, domestic-violence intervention and parenting services, just to name a few. Until Wednesday’s ribbon cutting, the city lacked a central spot for such services.
Rohnert Park residents who can’t find housing, are in need of mental health support, don’t understand their rights as renters or simply might need a hand filling out SNAP food assistance forms now have a dedicated spot to do all of the above … and then some.
Dubbed the Rohnert Park People Services Center, the hub is “a one-stop-shop for ‘I’m teetering on the edge and need help,” Rohnert Park Mayor Susan Adams said.
“Before, we were a flyover town,” Adams told the roughly three dozen people who attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for the center on Wednesday. “Before, you had to go to Petaluma or Santa Rosa or the county to get services.”
Not anymore. The city took a vacant office building it owns, freshened it with $100,000 in taxpayer-funded renovations and has made it the central home of social service programs, the overwhelming majority of them funded with a mix of county, state and federal tax dollars. Residents seeking assistance can drop by the center, 6800 Hunter Drive, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Appointments can be made by calling 707-765-8488.
The center offers a range of services, including individual and family counseling, housing placement, domestic violence intervention, parenting classes and help navigating financial literacy, renters’ rights, government benefits and more. Prior to the center’s opening, Rohnert Park lacked a single place where residents could get help.
The center’s opening comes nearly a decade after a report called the Portrait of Sonoma County exposed pockets of the city as lacking social services, prompting city staff and local leaders into action.
“In 2014, then-assistant city manager Don Schwartz said, ‘If we can figure it out, can you bring your services?’” Elece Hempel, executive director of Petaluma People Services Center said.
A $160,000 grant obtained through Sonoma County government allowed the city to bring Hempel’s nonprofit aboard. The nonprofit is already serving residents in Rohnert Park, says Aziz Majid, program director with the SAFE Team, a mobile crisis response team that contracts with the Petaluma People Services Center. But Majid says the distance between the nonprofit’s base in Petaluma is a barrier.
“Between 50% and 55% of clients we serve don’t have access to wheels,” Majid said. “This new spot is centrally located. We’ll have the ability to meet with clients and provide more services for them.”
In addition to the SAFE Team, the Rohnert Park People Services Center is collaborating with Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, Sonoma State University, Catholic Charities, Unsheltered Friends, Healthy Petaluma, AgeWell PACE and Labath Landing to provide its services. The Rohnert Park Regional Library is also likely to partner with the new hub, though details are not concrete, says Ray Holley, communications manager for the Sonoma County Library.
The center’s goal is to serve around 350 households in its first year, according to Kevin King, senior analyst with Rohnert Park. In particular, the center’s services are geared toward residents whose incomes are between 30% to 80% of the area median income, which is $128,100 for a four-person household.
King also expects that residents making less than 30% of area median income, will likely make up one in five of the center’s clientele base.
“It’s important to take note it’s not normal for cities to do this,” Third District Supervisor Chris Coursey said. “This is not a mandated service, but it’s absolutely necessary to take care of residents of the city.”
Amie Windsor is the Community Journalism Team Lead with The Press Democrat. She can be reached at amie.windsor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5218.
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