Cold-weather program offers shelter in Yuba City

One back in her arms — two to go.

That's what Lisa Stark thought on Tuesday when she took 20-month-old Seth from a social worker's arms and brought him into her new temporary home in the Richland Housing Center in Yuba City.

Stark, 36, has been a methamphetamine addict since she was a teenager. Last February, she gave birth prematurely to twin girls, and just in time to a drug-free life.

Results from the frequent drug tests she undergoes have convinced Child Protective Services case workers that she is ready to take on motherhood again.

The struggle to stay clean for the past eight months, she says, paid off in a single moment.

"This place is ours, baby," she tells Seth, who rests his sleepy head on her shoulder. "This is home."

Home is provided by the Cold Weather Shelter Program, a collaborative social services project between the Consolidated Area Housing Authority of Sutter County, Salvation Army and Child Protective Services, now in its sixth year.

Self-sufficiency is the ultimate goal. The program is designed to help its guests work toward that end, says Jeni Bobadilla, a Housing Authority case worker.

With that in mind, strict rules and a wide network of social services are laid out for homeless clients like Stark. She will have regular contact with case workers and be subjected to regular drug tests.

Her housing unit is one of 25 used during spring and summer months to house migrant farm workers, and available for the shelter program from Dec. 1 until March 31.

Kelly Hopkins, Stark's Child Protective Services case worker, praises her client on this big day for the progress she has made.

At just about the time Stark's time here ends, she will have a hearing where she'll learn if she is considered ready to take back her two daughters.

Hopkins says the winter shelter allows someone like Stark to begin cementing her identity as an autonomous adult.

"And this gives us a place where we can return their kids safely," she says.

Tuesday's moving day saw more than a dozen families move into the complex. Several more are awaiting the results of background checks before they can move in.

"We have great success stories out of this program," says Bobadilla. The key, she says, is the support network she and other social service workers provide. By the time families are approved for this program, usually the motivation is already there.

Earlier this year, Stark tried a live-in shelter program the Salvation Army runs for drug addicts and their families out of the Depot in Marysville. She managed to stay clean, but behavior problems led to an early dismissal.

The contacts she made there, however, ultimately worked out in her favor.

Marie Miller, 37, her close friend, was on hand Tuesday to see her move in and reunite with her son. Stark met her at the Depot.

"She's worked so hard," Miller says. "I'm really glad for this."

"I would have relapsed a long time ago if it wasn't for these people," Stark says of her friends and case workers.

Her clear, green eyes reveal a sense of vulnerability.

"This is the first time I've ever really lived on my own," she says. "This is all new to me, and I'm nervous."

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Nancy Pasternack at 749-4712 or at npasternack@appealdemocrat.com