All is well, but I just wanted to inform you all what’s happening…
On Tuesday, the City of Fairfield posted a “red tag” on the doors of City Church that reads “Unsafe. Do not enter or occupy”, which shut down all programs except religious services and food distribution until discrepancies can be rectified.
This action shut down the City Livin’ Center, which houses 35 residents, City Life School, which trains and equips new disciples as they recover from drug & alcohol abuse and other traumas, Free Clinic, which provides open access for 700 community members, Park & Sleep which protects 20–30 people a night who sleep in their car, and Navigators which provides shelter and support for homeless persons trying to get employment.
The Free Clinic was cited for being an “unpermitted medical clinic” that is also under construction. The unpermitted part is complicated and technical. First, the clinic operates under the individual license of the doctors. In California, a licensed physician has the authority to practice medicine, while a medical clinic is a corporate entity that needs a separate license. We have operated as a private practice free of charge therefore, we do not have a corporate clinic, and we do not have a business. So there is no “unpermitted medical clinic” as they cite.
However, at the city’s request, we agreed to create a licensed corporate clinic and apply for a special use permit to operate the business because the property is not zoned for commercial use. The bureaucracy has been onerous with multiple trips to Sacramento to incorporate a business. In our case, there is no online option to apply, and they do not accept email or fax. The application must be submitted in person or by mail. Our first submission was returned with the need for corrections after waiting 6 months! The second attempt was lost by the Secretary of State’s office. The next 3 attempts were submitted for rapid review, which cost $350 each time. Finally, after almost 12 months, our articles of incorporation were approved last Friday. Next, we go through the Medical Board of California to register our name. That application was submitted on Monday. The citation came on Tuesday.
The bottom line is that we are NOT a licensed corporate clinic, but we are individually licensed practitioners with separate malpractice insurance providing free medicine, which is legal even on a street corner.
The “under construction” citation is less complicated. We painted the ceilings and walls, put up home improvement store-bought cabinets, and did a deep cleaning so that our patients would feel comfortable being cared for in the church’s nursery space we borrow to see patients. You can see the sample flooring we are considering in the photo above. With these improvements, we were able to design dedicated pharmacy & lab areas. We also improved how we share space with the children’s area so that both ministries have full access – as a result, the clinic gained exam room space. We just have the flooring left to install.
This was all because of your donations of time, talent, and treasure!
All the upgrades are cosmetic and are intended to bring honor and dignity to the people we serve and benefit the community.
The impact on the community has been significant. The team at the free clinic:
- provides open access to 700 of our most vulnerable community members saves an estimated $1.2M in Emergency room visits per year
- decreases appointment waiting times by approximately 96%
- pours over $600K of free medicines, testing, supplies, and durable medical equipment into the community
- provides personalized assistance access to services for Veterans, homeless, immigrants, and disabled people
- provides care to widows, orphans, poor, immigrants, sick, lame, blind, former prisoners, and vulnerable
- provides opiate withdrawal therapy, free opiate overdose training, and naloxone nasal spray, which reverses opioid toxicity
- provides skin & nail, and wound care not covered by insurance
- provides individual and group counseling not available in this mental health crisis we are enduring
- integrates Mind, Body, and Spirit care to achieve true healing in the name of Jesus (FYI, there’s no requirement to be a Christian to receive services or to volunteer).
As a Christian, I want to assume the best intentions from the representatives of the City of Fairfield. I understand their responsibility to ensure the safety of the citizens they represent. I’m quite sure they have compassion for the lives being affected. However, I am not sure if they understand the immediate risks their action forced on so many hurting people at our site who know betrayal and have long been treated like lepers to be avoided and discarded.
This action triggered their worst and deepest doubts about authorities and despair for their safety and future. Pastor Scott from City Church and I immediately reacted with the same concern – someone could die as a result of this. I am reminded of Jesus’ words, “Father forgive them because they do not know what they are doing”.
After the red tags were placed, the primary focus of the staff at City Church was the safety and safe housing for the residents who live there. As you may know, California has a “housing first” policy, which requires a program to provide housing regardless of the person’s intent or status of drug use or harm to others. We do not accept government funding. While the Housing First policy may be useful to get homeless persons off the streets, it is incompatible with a rehab environment, which is our mission. So, we wanted to be sure our program members were offered housing with the least risk of the drug, violence, and sex trafficking culture that is too often found in Housing First programs. Many of our program members will travel to Bakersfield on Monday to live in our sister program there. Dr. Cline personally visited Mission Samoa, where 9 of our loved ones are now living. It’s a wonderful shelter with a guard and a drug-free policy surrounded by the Samoan Church. Best of all, they have Jesus AND each other to continue in communion and community as they face the challenges of the new days.
Still, this red-tag trauma has been harmful to them. It erodes trust in the city, the system, and the safety net. I believe it will test their faith, AND God will show up for everyone who believes.
Over the last 18 months, the church grounds were inspected by numerous city authorities, and several discrepancies were found that need to be fixed. I suppose this could be expected since there were no city inspections in the 15 years before Pastor Scott ran for City Council. The most concerning problem was a major roof leak, which was cited in the red tag. This roof leak was fixed about 15 months ago for $75K, almost all of which was donated (thanks be to God). The church has been in communication with city departments as we have diligently gone down the list of discrepancies, and we were reassured that as long as we made progress we could continue to operate. I choose to assume the best about people and consider the likelihood that the departments may not be communicating with the council members and mayor. That happens, and we forgive these things.
As for the clinic, I think this is simply a misunderstanding by the city. The city leaders may not know that we already paid $7,000 for a conditional use permit, and we are simply waiting for approval from the city as well as approval from the medical board for the name of the clinic. I am praying that they will visit the nursery where we hold the clinic and see the “construction” was cosmetic and not dangerous and that we only have the flooring remaining to be placed.
Ultimately, I am at peace with the outcome that God has already ordained. If God is NOT for the clinic or the rehab program, then I don’t want any part of it. If God is FOR the clinic and rehab program, then nothing will stand in His way. That’s easy to say and hard to believe. Yet, I am convinced we will see God Glorified because of this.
We expect to incur legal fees. We still have many items on the list of discrepancies that need to be fixed. We are raising $7,000 for the flooring, and hope to get volunteers to install it. We also need to repair the roof over the clinic (which was not given a citation but probably deserves one) with an estimate of $19,000. As soon as possible, I’d like to repair the parking lot asphalt for our Park & Sleep program (God willing we can reopen it soon), which will cost around $140-200,000. And we have ongoing costs. So, in addition to your prayers, we would appreciate your donations. Donate at: tinyurl.com/donate-CFC.
Pray that God will be glorified in everything we do. At times like this, we need to be a light on a hill, so the world can see how Christians react to adversity. We don’t strike back. We extend Love & Grace. We build community by inviting others into God’s family. We turn the other cheek and walk an extra mile. We don’t hold fast to our programs or policies, but we do hold fast to our Faith and our God. We trust that so long as we bear His Image, we will walk in His Love, no harm will come to us, and no evil will prevail.
Grace and Peace, Dr Cline and the Team
Daily Republic Article: https://www.dailyrepublic.com/news/city-church-there-is-a-human-cost-to-closing-program-doors/article_b06d5952-e6ff-11ee-966c-af4343e072b7.html
CBS News video: https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/fairfield-church-that-houses-homeless-red-tagged-by-city-over-safety-concerns/