Mountain News Reports on Housing Summit

Housing and Homeless Coalition Summit Provides Answers

by Diane Oestreich

Jul 9, 2025

The faith community is acknowledged as an ideal partner for matters concerning homelessness, so, appropriately, the Mountain Homeless Coalition hosted a summit at Lake Arrowhead Presbyterian Church on Thursday, June 27. The church was instrumental in forming the coalition and raising awareness of the problem of local homelessness. The over three-hour meeting included lunch and speakers who provided information on a variety of topics related to homelessness and housing.  The summit was available live and via Zoom and was both encouraging and informative about the issue of homelessness, focusing mainly on the mountain communities and San Bernardino County.  

Master of ceremonies and board member Wendell Wilson has spent 20 years developing housing and serving the homeless community. In his introductory remarks he pointed out the struggles of the “working poor” who do not make enough money to afford the high rents of California and the elderly, who comprise another group vulnerable to housing problems. The elderly and the disabled have been the main focus of the mountain homeless concerns. “In the last few years, they’ve been priced out of the normal market,” he said. HUD’s standard is that one shouldn’t pay more than 30% of one’s income for housing, but the majority of people are paying 50% according to recent studies.

Paul Fournier, current COC board member, former Mountain Homeless Coalition staff member.

In the San Bernardino mountains, there are really only three projects that qualify as efforts to provide affordable housing: A 52-unit project in Twin Peaks, Crossings (a 42-unit project built in 2009 in Big Bear), and Mountain Meadows with 74 one-bedroom apartments for age 62 and older also in Big Bear. There are no vacancies in any of these housing options. The Mountain Homeless Coalition makes use of Trello, a web-based app that lets them create and manage tasks, lists, and teams.

A lot of organizations help the Coalition work with the homeless, especially helping with first and last payments and security deposits to get people into housing. People who get eviction notices can receive aid from the county, and they help facilitate that also. “In the long run,” Wilson concluded, “we need more affordable housing projects built, especially for the elderly.”  

When COVID hit, people were laid off and evicted when they couldn’t pay their rent, Wilson said. Governor Newsom came up with $500,000,000 for renting motel rooms for the homeless to try to prevent the spread of COVID among the homeless. Hotels were also purchased, and the money was spread around on the mountain. After about six months, Newsom came up with a program called Homekey, “A grant that was terrific,” Wilson said. Small fishing cabins on the mountain were put to use: four cabins and a duplex on a vacant lot. The San Bernardino Housing Authority partnered with the Homeless Coalition “and that was a big help,” he noted. “We took six homeless people off the streets,” he said proudly. “The average rent now is $4500,” he added. Cities and counties have more people in need and are more inclined to get grant money because of that, he concluded.

“How can we as a community serve the homeless?” Wilson asked.  A point-in-time count, defined by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, is “an unduplicated count on a single night of the people in a community who are experiencing homelessness that includes both sheltered and unsheltered populations.” It is conducted every January. Such a count on the mountain found 80 homeless on the mountain, but many believe the count is closer to 1000. Schools are required to keep track of homeless students. In Big Bear they counted 250 “couch surfers” among the student population. An estimate is 150 in the Rim of the World Unified School District. Homeless encampments on the mountain are not visible but they are real, buried in the woods.

Strategic Plans and Services: Marcus Dillard, Chief of the Office of Homeless Services for County of San Bernardino, addressed HMIS Kiosks and strategic plans and grants for services. He introduced Carrie Harmon, Director of Community Development and Housing for San Bernardino County, who said, smiling, “I really just follow Marcus around wherever he goes.” She focuses on capital development. Dillard explained that his family had experienced homelessness, and he was drawn to the work that he now does because of that. “Experiencing homelessness gave me a passion for helping homeless people, because I felt what they are going through,” he said. The Strategic Homeless Action Plan is a project they are working on. According to the sbcouty.gov website, “The County of San Bernardino Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is a coordinated system of computers that enable service, shelter and housing providers in different locations across the County to collect and share information about the homeless individuals and families seeking services.” When Dillard came to San Bernardino County from Riverside County, he noticed that the country was “tremendously underfunded” compared to what he had seen in Riverside County. A current project is to convert a Days Inn to a Public Supported Housing (PSH) unit to provide housing for those currently in encampments. Some homeless people will never earn enough to make it on their own, he explained, and “that is what public supported housing is for.” He said they will make sure a team will coordinate with the mountain communities also, including rental assistance. The HDAP (Housing Disability Advocacy Program) serves those who don’t have Social Security. They are creating a flexible housing pool under this program to provide rental assistance. The BHBH (Behavioral Health Bridge Housing) provides for the housing needs of those with mental health issues. Kiosks are being implemented to allow people to update information related to the benefits they are receiving, such as phone numbers, addresses, Social Security, and updates of requests for sheltering. The first two installations for the mountain are expected to be at the Big Bear and Crestline bus offices (MARTA). The target date for the kiosk installation is August 2025.   

The Highway 210 Corridor is a focus for efforts to house the homeless, Harmon emphasized. The Roadway Inn at RV Center Drive in Colton is designated for 150-175 units for inpatient homeless being treated at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, (ARMC), i.e. those who are frequent visitors to clinics and who need recuperative care. There is a social worker at ARMC to provide a higher level of support, provided by a grant from Kaiser Permanente. A groundbreaking ceremony recently took place for Pacific Village, a facility for Service Enriched Housing. It will include 58 permanent housing units focused on medically fragile and senior residents. The Salvation Army Chapel is being repurposed as a clinic. Sixteen beds in a treatment facility will be added. Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) also provide a Mobile Dental Clinic and a Workforce Development Program for shelter residents. These are good ways to connect with people and encourage them to take next steps. Dillard stepped back in to say that word is out that he can help, and he is receiving 150 calls per day. Requests cannot all be met with the resources available.

Economic Development and Planning: Kelly Tinker, Economic Development Manager for Big Bear Lake and Nathan Castillo, Senior Planner and Housing Specialist there, shared that workers come to Big Bear from other areas. Businesses need workers, and workers need housing. They are helping to convert existing lodges to full-time housing for workers and strive to work with the City of Big Bear Lake cooperatively. An audience member said that in Los Angeles a popular program is putting retail stores on a lower level with housing above the retail establishments.

Faith-Based Involvement: Paul Fournier addressed the involvement of churches and camps. “Where we live, for 150 years, the church has largely been the safety net for a lot of resources from the county,” he said. “We’re used to being independent,” he added. A few months ago, they gathered as many churches, temples, and Christian camps together in the room where the Summit was being held as they could. Churches are doing what they feel God is calling them to do. “Some are called to food banks,” he said, and others serve in different ways such as economic programs. The Chalmers Institute in Georgia specializes in financial training for those living below the poverty line. “It’s all done through churches,” he noted, “and it’s all done in a way that that is one-on-one pairing with a mentor from the church.” The coalition counted 75 churches on the mountain between Cedar Pines and Irwin Lake. Food pantries and counseling are provided by some. A man in Big Bear opened up a home previously used as an Air B&B to young men who have lost their way. “Most are friends of his own kids,” Paul noted. He is “re-fathering” them. For a month he helps them get clean and get a job, and after that they are expected to pay rent.

Fournier then said Representatives for the Contractors Association were in the room to include them in the conversation about ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units)—small, self-contained living spaces located on the same property as a primary residence. The city of Big Bear Lake has been successful with this concept. He introduced RaShawna Fahie who deals with manufactured homes for families and as ADUs. She explained that Neighborhood Public Housing Projects (NPHS) Inc. is a nonprofit organization that offers programs and services to help low-income and underserved communities achieve housing and economic stability. They use manufactured homes. A company called Boxable, now mostly owned by Elon Musk, is making houses that fold up and can be transported by trailer and put together on site for less than a day, Fournier added.

Fournier introduced Margaret Tiefenthaler from Big Bear, a no-nonsense counselor (“the best counselor I have met,” he said). She will sit down with people and work through their issues, arrange shared housing for them, and cooperate with realtors and homeowners.

Zazette Scott, shared housing expert

Fournier then introduced Zazette Scott with Family Assistance Program. She is currently working with the human trafficking component, but she has always had a passion for housing. Putting together a group of individuals who agree to live together and receive counseling on how to live with civility and a set of rules is her gifting. Becoming a kind of family living under one roof and pooling their incomes toward the running of the household benefits them all and has proved to be a workable and healthy living arrangement. “I am convinced now that shared housing is going to end homelessness,” she said. “Shared housing works. There is a shared housing model for every community. HUD approves shared housing, so you can get funding for it from HUD. There are always conflicts,” she added, but she learned about shared housing from the Quakers in Claremont, and Fournier pointed out that churches are the ideal instigators of shared housing, because they can counsel and care for the “families” created in the shared housing model. “Come to Supervisors meetings,” Scott encouraged. Go to other public meetings and “make those in charge feel good about what they could be doing with their properties.” Existing housing can be used in this program, one of the audience members pointed out. The best way to set up shared housing is to connect with people calling in for mortgage assistance or rental assistance. People newly widowed are good candidates for this type of living arrangement. Fournier added that Ventura County has a program to do vetting and assist in this kind of program.

Shared Housing Solutions: Don Smith, Consultant, came in via Zoom. He helped to get the first grant for the Mountain Homeless Coalition, so they could hire their first case manager. His PowerPoint was entitled “Embracing Shared Housing as a Permanent Housing Solution.“ The California Shared Housing Partnership’s data clearly states the problem.  Housing costs squeeze out medical and food funds for many. Rents have increased by 40% in California while wages have increased only 9% in recent years. COLAs don’t match up to housing cost increases for those on fixed incomes. He cited his own mother as an example. Subsidized housing covenants are going away to add to the problem. Developers buy units and raise rates to market prices, forcing people out of their living places. Use of empty homes in San Bernardino could help to solve the housing problem. Shared housing with private spaces and common spaces such as kitchens is a viable solution. “The Golden Girls Model” is trendy, he said, with almost 45% of Americans living in shared housing. There are good models to emulate in California, and he shared many of them, along with strategies for funding them.

Alexa Washburn, National CORE representative

Alexa Washburn, Chief Development Officer of National Communities’ Renaissance, said school districts are beginning to consider the role they could play. The Sage Park development in Gardena created 90 affordable rental homes for families on a 3.5-acre site on the north side of the Gardena High School campus in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Laws restrict use exclusively for school district employees. Major employers are also investing in affordable housing to attract and retain their workforce.

Priced out of the housing market, some residents have taken to living in their cars.

A video entitled “Mountain Voices” was shared at the end of the meeting. It captured the plight of a variety of mountain residents. One particularly poignant story was that of a woman who had lived in her house for 30 years but dropped her fire insurance—and her house burned down, and she was living in her car.

Although the Mountain Homeless Coalition sponsored the event, others who have successfully worked to house the homeless in other parts of California were also highlighted. Forward-looking new concepts were spotlighted, providing positive solutions that appear doable. Long waiting lists for those facilities that are available provide evidence for the need to expand the options.

The Mountain Homeless Coalition website has helpful information and links: https://www.mountainhomelesscoalition.com.