Weekly Roundup for March 24, 2023

Today’s digest provides helpful and important news on the following:

1. Drought update
2. Joe Rodota Trail and Emergency Shelter site updates
3. Other Sonoma County news

Drought Update

For the first time since 2019, Sonoma County’s reservoirs are not just full – they are at above capacity. Lake Sonoma was at 115 percent of its water supply capacity on Friday, while Lake Mendocino was at 113 percent. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began high-flow releases from both reservoirs last week for the first time in nearly four years, creating space to hold additional water before another atmospheric river reached the Bay Area early this week.

A series of storms have now poured 33 inches of rain on Santa Rosa since Christmas – think about that for a moment: nearly 3 feet of rain in just 13 weeks! Even more has fallen in the hills that drain water into the Russian River watershed, which supplies drinking water for more than 600,000 people in the North Bay. And yet another storm is expected to arrive late Monday.

While winter storms have filled up our reservoirs quickly, it will take much longer to recharge our underground aquifers, which were depleted during  the driest three-year period in the county’s history. You can help by keeping your water-saving habits; there is never enough water to waste!

Joe Rodota Trail and emergency shelter site updates

The County of Sonoma opened an emergency shelter site Tuesday in a parking lot at the County Government Center campus in northeast Santa Rosa, creating a new source of temporary housing for unsheltered individuals camped along Joe Rodota Trail and other public places.

All people camping along Joe Rodota Trail have either accepted offers to move to the emergency shelter site or relocated to other places. Sonoma County Regional Parks closed the trail from Wright Road to Roberts Avenue on Friday to begin an extensive cleanup. The trail will remain closed until safe public access can be restored.

The county is committed to being good neighbors and will work hard to make the emergency shelter site safe and successful. Site managers will enforce rules that are designed to protect the safety and security of shelter residents and the surrounding neighborhood. Security personnel will be there 24 hours a day, seven days a week to patrol the shelter site as well as the surrounding area. Individuals seeking to live at the emergency shelter site will be screened in advance. Individuals with convictions for violent and/or sexual offenses will not be admitted.

For more information, including frequently asked questions regarding the site, visit the Homeless Services Division webpage: https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/development-services/community-development-commission/divisions/homeless-services/emergency-shelter-sites-faq

New resource hub for older adults, people with disabilities

The Sonoma County Human Services Department and local nonprofits have launched a resource hub that quickly connects older adults and people with disabilities to an array of critical services.

The Aging & Disability Resource Hub simplifies access to health, transportation and nutrition services offered by federal, state and local government agencies and their nonprofit partners.

“We want to make it easier for people to find the support they need to live as independently as possible at home,” said Supervisor Chris Coursey, chair of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. “A key objective in the Board’s five-year Strategic Plan is to create a ‘No Wrong Door’ approach, where clients can easily access services across multiple agencies regardless of where they enter the system. This new hub is one of many steps the county is taking to help make that a reality.”

To access the hub, call (707) 565-INFO (4636) or go to www.socoadrh.org and click on the chat icon to start a conversation with a social worker. Assistance is available for older adults, people with disabilities, their family members, caregivers, social workers and direct service providers who need help identifying and accessing support services.

The Aging & Disability Resource Hub is a collaboration of the county Human Services Department and the Disability Services & Legal Center, a Santa Rosa-based nonprofit.

Latest news from County of Sonoma

Sonoma County increases Living Wage to $17.65 an hour starting July 1 
https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/sonoma-county-increases-living-wage-to-1765-an-hour-starting-july-1

Sonoma County proclaims March as Family Justice Center Awareness Month, announces Survivor Eternity Garden event 
https://da.sonomacounty.ca.gov/sonoma-county-proclaims-march-as-family-justice-center-awareness-month-and-announces-survivor-eternity-garden-event

Community Development Commission 2023-24 Action Plan now available for public comment 
https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/fy-23-24-action-plan-now-available-for-public-comment

View a list of  current and upcoming job opportunities with the County of Sonoma 
https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/job-opportunities

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