Stepping down

When Michael Madieros joined Stairways Programming in 2014, his focus was outreach—boots-on-the-ground and under bridges. In less than a year, he was named executive director. His philosophy of harm reduction and housing first, models he’d worked under in San Diego and San Francisco, weren’t exactly greeted with open arms, however.

Madieros is the first to admit he’s rough around the edges and doesn’t get along with everybody. He doesn’t care what people think about him, which, in hindsight, hurt more than it helped him in his role at Stairways—a low-barrier Chico shelter. Perhaps he should have played the game better, he says. At the same time, he acknowledges that he is more suited to outreach than directing an organization.

“I shot us in the foot a lot,” he told the CN&R.

Now, four years after becoming a Stairways social worker, Madieros is closing the program that houses about 30 people. And the decision is as much personal—he suffered a heart attack a few months ago that scared the heck out of his family—as it is practical.

“This front building needs to be torn down,” he said, pointing to the first of several buildings on a lot near the Chico State campus that make up Stairways. He’d begun planning for a remodel of the place and learned that it had already been remodeled four different times, none of them permitted. The cost to fix the problems or rebuild are too much, he said.

The costs associated with maintaining a facility like Stairways, which “houses the hardest,” are generally high. It does not require sobriety as most other local shelters do (there are some “wet” beds at the Torres Community Shelter), and people come straight off the streets.

A tour of the property earlier this week illustrated Madieros’ point. The rooms are organized by phase, so those who were sleeping under a bridge or in the park yesterday first move in to phase 1. Walking through that area, it’s not pretty. Mattresses are on the ground—because many homeless folks aren’t used to a proper bed and aren’t comfortable in one—and many of the rooms are in disarray. In phase 2, the level of cleanliness was notably improved, as those residents work their way toward independence.

Perhaps the biggest reason Madieros is closing Stairways—residents will have several months before the actual buildings are shuttered—is the lack of support from the community, he said. Not that Chicoans don’t like Stairways specifically, just that their collective priorities are misplaced, leading to arguments over whose way is the best way rather than working together to help people who truly need it.

“Unless Chico decides it wants to be a community that puts human beings first over winning, we’re going nowhere,” he said.

Madieros would like to see more resources put into mental health care and substance abuse programs that would address a lot of the underlying issues related to homelessness. He also sees a problem with the foster-care system, which leaves many people behind as soon as they turn 18.

Ron Reed, a public defender in Butte County and homeless advocate, agreed.

“I think our focus has been on feeding people, clothing them and sheltering them without thinking about the overall picture of getting them into permanent housing,” he said.

Reed had partnered with Madieros for Stairways’ harm reduction center, where they held alcohol and substance abuse programs alongside legal assistance to help people clear up warrants. When the lease came up several months ago, Reed chose not to renew it.

“I had funded it and a few months ago I decided to focus on Oroville and the two projects I have there,” Reed said.

Part of Reed’s reasoning for shifting gears was the inhospitable culture in Chico, he said. In Oroville, he found “great people there, they work together,” he said. “There’s a strong faith-based community that really works together. I went there and the city said, ‘Hey, how can we help you?’ There’s a different atmosphere and viewpoint toward helping people.”

The decision to close Stairways was not an easy one for Madieros. While talking about some of the residents and where they might end up without the program, he started to tear up. He told a story about one man who had attempted suicide several times and one time almost succeeded. Madieros and other staff were able to revive him. That same man returned to Stairways after a period of time back on the streets just last weekend.

“I worry that he’s not going to live without this place,” Madieros said. “I struggle to think about it.”

Reed agreed that the closure is a big deal for Chico’s homeless, but stressed that there’s still hope.

“We’ll miss Stairways, but I think there are alternatives and other ways we can do the same type of thing,” Reed said.

For Madieros’ part, he’s not giving up on helping the homeless community altogether. He’s started a new program called Space Monkey Studio on the north side of town. He and Jeremy Williams—who was homeless when they met and now helps run Stairways—tattoo there, with 50 percent of earnings going toward a youth art program also located at the studio. It’s in the beginning stages, but he hopes to offer counseling as well as other services.

“It’s time to get back to the youth, to make more of a difference when it counts,” Madieros said. “So many of our youth have never had a chance.”