Adapted from my Facebook post of September 27, 2026. The resident is not named; details about her situation reflect my account at the time.

We definitely need more than one kind of housing solution in Chico. Different people need different things … and a single option can’t meet every need.

On September 27, I wrote about an 84-year-old woman who was staying at Torres Shelter.

I described her as sharp as a tack. But I was concerned about how little sleep she was getting and how frightened she felt.

At 84, we should be caring better for our neighbors.

A door she can lock

What I wanted for her wasn’t extravagant.

A hotel room … a small private room … something with a door she could close and lock, where she could lie down and get a good night’s sleep.

I wrote that she was staying in a dormitory and that her belongings were being disturbed while she slept. Those were concerns I shared in my original post, not incidents I’m presenting here as independently verified.

The larger point remains: someone who doesn’t feel safe enough to sleep needs another option.

I wasn’t describing a woman who wanted to be placed into an institution. As I understood it, she wanted independence. She wanted to be able to go out, participate in the community, and spend time with people in her neighborhood.

She was afraid of losing that freedom.

Housing should help people hold on to their independence … not take it away.

Somewhere between the street and a shelter dormitory

There has to be something between sleeping outside and sleeping in a crowded dormitory.

I mentioned the North State Shelter Team’s tiny-house approach as one possible example of the kind of alternative we should be exploring. The point isn’t that any single organization has every answer. It’s that different people need different safe places to be.

A small, secure place, with supportive check-ins if they’re wanted and needed, can mean a great deal to someone trying to remain part of their community.

This woman was not the only older resident whose situation concerned me.

And I don’t want her story to disappear into a statistic.

She’s a neighbor.

She’s part of Chico.

At 84, she deserves a safe place to sleep … and the opportunity to keep living her life.

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This is a personal account based on what I understood in September 2026. I have omitted the resident’s name and other identifying information.

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My homelessness journey … chapter 17 of 17

← I Am Ecstatic · All chapters

October follow-up: My Homelessness Ended … But My Work Didn’t … what I’m doing now to help older neighbors find options.