In Novato, homeless residents face uncertain future after camp fire

Michael Robertson is wheelchair-bound and missing a right leg. Before dawn on July 30, he scrambled to escape his tent before it caught fire.

His neighbors alerted him and his partner that their camp at Novato’s Lee Gerner Park was burning. They were helped out of their tent to safety. “It was coming fast and we got out in the nick of time,” Robertson said.

“I tried to pull things away from the fire to see if I could slow it down, but it was too hot,” said another camper, John Sandfort. “I was 12 feet away from it and it was too hot.”

Sandfort’s neighbor, David Tillotson, said he is grateful that everyone woke up and no one was hurt. “Some of those guys sleep pretty good,” he said with a laugh.

The men were among nearly 20 homeless people who were staying at “Camp Compassion,” a temporary encampment surrounded by a wooden fence on city property. The fire is believed to have started at a tent near the entrance.

Two days after the fire, Novato police arrested a suspect accused of arson at the camp. Brianna Giudice is set to appear for a preliminary examination on Sept. 26.

Now, an unknown future is ahead for the camp.

“Right now, I think people are worried about what comes next,” said Jason Sarris, a former camper who is now the chair of the city’s housing and homelessness committee. “The uncertainty of it all has really got people worried. They really want to come back to the camp.”

Burnt debris, furniture and standing tents remain at the fenced-up camp that no one can access. Many former campers still have their belongings there.

The aftermath displays the fire’s path that burned tall trees between the camp and the heavily wooded Novato Creek. There was no damage to nearby businesses and the nearby county library.

Over the past few weeks, many former campers have been staying at a motel provided as a temporary shelter by the city until officials decide what to do next. Since 2022, the camp has been offered as a refuge to homeless residents while they await housing. The encampment has a maximum capacity of 17 occupants.

The city is seeking bids from potential contractors to analyze options for the encampment, Assistant City Manager Jessica Deakyne said.

Temporary housing is supported by one-time grant funds from the state and Marin County to support Novato’s homeless services. Deakyne said that her staff estimates there is approximately $500,000 left in the grant funding. In the past two years, the city received $1 million in such funding. The county funds are earmarked for the Lee Gerner Park services and the state funds are set aside for homeless response initiatives, she said.

Deakyne noted that the city is relying on the one-time grant to keep the displaced campers in temporary housing “while working to ensure they are document-ready to transition into either shelter beds or rapid rehousing.”

The encampment was created after the California Homeless Union filed a federal lawsuit against the city over regulations on where camping is permitted in public places. Under a legal settlement, the city agreed to leave the camp in place. The agreement is set to expire in October. City officials also approved $200,000 in federal stimulus funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to build the camp.

Homeless residents must first apply to stay at the camp and undergo city approval before moving in. Applicants must have a plan to transition into housing, cooperate with case workers and agree to the camp’s code of conduct.

Sarris said 23 occupants have moved into permanent housing. He also noted that the site was a place where case workers could easily locate clients.

“It’s been highly successful as a stepping stone for people to get into housing,” he said.

Nonprofits from across Marin County are assisting the displaced.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin is providing breakfast and clothing vouchers that can be used at a thrift store, said Meredith Parnell, the nonprofit’s chief program officer. She said the organization was helping many of the campers before the fire.

“They were our clients anyway, but we’re all pitching in for everyone,” Parnell said. “We’re seeing what we can do to help.”

Parnell noted that her staff was able to get a displaced person into rental housing. She said he was “just on the verge” of moving when he lost his tent in the fire.

Homeward Bound of Marin, a Novato nonprofit that assists the county’s homeless population, is interested in offering shelter beds to the displaced campers after their motel stay ends.

“We’d love to accommodate as many of them as we can in shelter, depending on our availability and the time they need the beds,” said Paul Fordham, Homeward Bound’s deputy executive director.

While they await the city decision on the camp, former occupants Robertson, Sandfort and Tillotson remain at a motel on the north end of the city.

Robertson joined the camp in February after experiencing a series of health issues. He said it was the first time he’s been homeless.

“I entered the camp and I was welcomed by some of the finest people I ever met,” Robertson said. “I felt I was at the right place.”

Sandfort, who is involved in woodworking and crafts bowls and walking sticks, said he stayed at the camp for more than two months. He said that he was working with a friend until he suffered a shoulder injury from a bicycle crash.

He recalled sleeping in his car near the Lee Gerner Park camp before he moved into the camp.

“It was pretty much everybody getting along well and doing their best to help each other out,” Sandfort said.

Tillotson said that he has stayed at the camp off and on for the past few years. He works as an in-home health care assistant.

He said he has an “uneasy feeling” about the camp’s future.

“It’s hard to plan what to do next and try to get out of being homeless when you have to worry about surviving every day,” he said.