Michael Kraft
It’s never an easy time to be in the world of providing services for people experiencing homelessness. The current time is proving to be particularly difficult, but the folks of Arcata House Partnership persist. I interviewed Manager of Operations Florence Carroll.
Despite the name, the organization serves all of Humboldt County, with the mission to serve people facing homelessness with dignity. This takes multiple forms. There are several facilities including family shelters, an adult shelter and two apartment complexes, one in Eureka and one in Arcata. At this time of year, AHP opens their regional extreme weather shelters. (When Florence and I talked in December, there was a cold front expected that was likely to last several weeks.) In Southern Humboldt, AHP partners with WISH, the women’s crisis shelter. The impact is enormous, as revealed by two statistics. In a year, Arcata House provides over 33,000 nights of lodging and over 51,000 meals.
You may have heard about the point in time count. This is an effort to take a census of people either living outside or in their cars on one day. At the last count, 1500 people were counted. The actual number is probably twice that.
I was curious about the name including “partnership.” It turns out that, back in 1991, there were two groups working in Arcata, Arcata House Inc. and All Faith Partnership. Those two entities came together to better serve the area’s families.
The reasons for becoming homeless, of course, are varied. Some may simply be priced out of their homes. Mental health issues play a part. There are people who have substance use disorders and there just aren’t enough resources to help.
One of my go-to questions to ask is “what do you most want folks to know?” Florence answered “we’re here and remain committed to serving the community. We have food pantry systems. Anyone who is struggling should feel free to reach out. We can refer to other organizations. We’re absolutely stronger together.”
The social service nonprofits in Humboldt tend to work together well, and AHP is no different. “We work with everyone; it just depends on the need,” Florence said. Examples include the County Department of Health and Human Service, the Rape Crisis Center, Humboldt Domestic Violence Services and the Family Resource Centers.
The most pressing reason that 2026 proves to be very tough has to do with federal budget cuts. Over $2 million in anticipated funding went away last year. This resulted in the layoff of 18 employees, compromising the organization’s capacity. “We’re less accessible and have had to pare back services. It’s just less possible to provide all we want to provide,” Florence said, the emotion in her voice clear. She added that new Housing and Urban Development (HUD) priorities appear to phase out permanent housing in favor of transitional housing, which research has demonstrated is less likely to work. Rapid rehousing domestic violence funding was cut severely, and early. AHP staff worked hard to help eight households find new accommodations in very short order, to help those families retain some stability.
In response to the budget cuts, Arcata House Partnership has been working to diversify funds beyond federal and state money. The community has always been supportive, Florence noted, but it’s difficult now because “everyone is being taken down.” “If you can financially support, we always appreciate that.” AHP has benefitted from business sponsorships. She shared the example of a beautiful Thanksgiving event, with help from businesses like Mission Linen. There’s a donation day coming up on February 28, and both donors and volunteers are welcome.
She described that people are donating less but volunteering more. Volunteers have various opportunities: weekly pantry days, tabling monthly donation days, handling donated clothing items, staffing warming centers, serving as overnight volunteers. Theres lots of janitorial work to be done, and lots of laundry. Some volunteers teach classes, like art. Florence said, “if someone can think of it, and it’s something they want to do that will help the people we serve, we’re open to it.”
To help out in any way, you can get started on the Arcata House Partnership website link here: https://www.arcatahouse.org/get-involved.
As a final thought, Florence made this request. As winter grinds on, “be kind this time of year, when the weather is so severe. Caring and giving what you can is very important.”
Michael Kraft writes the Good Work series, volunteering on behalf of the Northern California Association of Nonprofits (NorCAN). NorCAN supports connections between people and organizations that work every day to keep our communities healthy and strong by offering professional development, board support, networking connections and more. Learn more at https://norcal-nonprofits.org/. To nominate a deserving nonprofit organization to be profiled, email michael@kraftconsultants.com.
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