Eureka’s New UPLIFT Community Resource Center Rises from COVID-19 Funding
Located in the Municipal Auditorium at 1111 E Street in Eureka, the UPLIFT Community Resource Center is currently open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. [Photo by Ryan Hutson]
The Uplift Community Resource Center in Eureka has officially opened its doors, thanks in large part to over $900,000 in COVID-19 related funding. The new center, located in the historic Eureka Municipal Auditorium building, aims to provide a wide range of services and resources to low and moderate-income individuals in the community.
“This funding was a game-changer for us,” said Jeff Davis, Special Projects Manager at the Uplift Community Resource Center. “It allowed us to renovate this building, put a new roof on the auditorium, and create a space that can truly serve as a hub for connecting people with the services they need.”
According to Davis, the majority of the $938,000 budget came from Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Coronavirus Response Initiative (CRI) funds. The large grant was crucial in transforming part of the aging municipal building into a modern, accessible facility, which first needed a new roof.
Special Programs Director for the City of Eureka, Jeff Davis, introduces UPLIFT Community Resource Center, and discusses what will do for the community. [Video by Ryan Hutson]
Built in 1936, the Muni (as the Municipal Auditorium is known) is seen as a community space in the eyes of city officials, explained Davis, noting that the space was expansive, and needed a lot of work. Davis explained that once a contractor was found to take on the challenge, it took a lot of money and time. “So yeah, it was $938,000 paid for a brand new roof…. And we were able to do some amazing things. That roof was old. It was leaking when it rained, it rained inside, too. So that really impacted a lot of our programs.”
Beyond just providing its own programs, the Uplift Community Resource Center aims to act as a central hub for connecting individuals to a variety of services and agencies available in the area. With the increased space and hours of operation, the program coordinators hope to see an increase in participation by community members looking for services, as well as those offering services or information related to housing or health in the community.
Davis emphasized the center’s “No Wrong Door Policy” – if they can’t directly assist someone, they are committed to guiding them to the right local provider.
“This is not a place for emergency response, but we have great relationships with dozens and dozens of local organizations,” said Jeff Davis, Special Projects Manager. “Whatever you’re looking for, whatever you need help with, you came to the right place, because we’re either going to help you ourselves or we’re going to know who would provide those services.”
![Boasting individual computer stations and a new conference room that can be used by community partners with programs looking for a space to hold meetings or to offer services to community members, Davis underscored that the new “hub” was ready for visitors. [Photos by Ryan Hutson]](https://kymkemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/image5-1.jpg)
Boasting individual computer stations and a new conference room that can be used by community partners with programs looking for a space to hold meetings or to offer services to community members, Davis underscored that the new “hub” was ready for visitors. [Photos by Ryan Hutson]
The new UPLIFT location at the Eureka Municipale Center is able to host several programs, and is staffed by the city of Eureka. Some of the new programs that the hub will be hosting monthly include Highway to Housing, a workshop that covers strategies needed to find, apply for and secure housing, and Tools for Tenancy which will cover tips for rental success including how to effectively communicate with landlords and neighbors, setting up utilities and more. These are in addition to programs already available, like the Rapid Rehousing Program, and the Pathway to Payday program, which is run with the help of Betty Chinn.
Davis explained that there are big possibilities available at the new location. The resource center has a conference room available for community partners to come in and deliver their own services on-site, creating a one-stop-shop for residents in need. “So it’s not just the city of Eureka providing these services. It’s really a place for the community to come together and provide these services,” he said.
Gesturing to the conference room and computer stations, Davis added, “So whether you… want to distribute free cell phones or sign people up for CalFresh or Medi Cal or Medicare, whatever it is, that the conference room is available for you to come here and set up and provide those services.
A long conference table with room for 8 chairs is ready and waiting for its next booking. Center, contact Cynthia Bowman, Resource Center Coordinator, phone: (707) 441-4242 x4021, email: [email protected]v [Photo by Ryan Hutson]
According to the press release announcing the new UPLIFT Community Services Center, “employment workshops will also take place weekly and will include tutorials on resume building, job searching, interview skills and workplace etiquette”, giving workforce-ready applicants one-on-one help preparing to take the next step in their employment journey.
How Covid Made Room For Community
Prior to the pandemic, the Eureka’s UPLIFT team had a regular presence at local homeless shelters, holding weekly meetings with partner groups to connect individuals with resources and services. However, when COVID-19 hit in the early months of 2020, these in-person gatherings had to be put on hold due to social distancing requirements and restrictions on indoor activities which were mandated by the State and County.
Rather than scaling back outreach, the city pivoted to an outdoor model, closing down entire blocks to set up meal distribution sites. Recalling how in Old Town, in front of the St. Vincent DePaul location, the city would use the street for a staging ground for homeless outreach. “We would close that entire block down every single day, with the help of our police department, and we’d have our outreach workers out there every single Monday through Friday, serving those meals to folks,” said Davis.
Here, Jeff Davis talks about the COVID-19 funding for the UPLIFT upgrade, and reflects on lessons from the pandemic. [Video by Ryan Hutson]
Beyond just providing food, the city’s outreach efforts expanded to include essential supplies like hand sanitizer and masks, which were mandated by the county’s Health Officer and the CDC, were in short supply at the time. Staff members who weren’t normally in outreach roles also volunteered to go out and assist, determined to reach the people who needed help the most during the uncertain early days of the pandemic. Davis recalled how city outreach staff – called “essential workers” during the COVID-19 pandemic – even helped individuals navigate the process of accessing the economic impact payments available to them during that period.
When asked if strategies from the COVID-19 pandemic had carried over into the currently available services at UPLIFT, Davis said in addition to adapting more digital tools, like Zoom and telehealth options, that lessons taken from the many months of uncertainty and unprecedented adaptations were also valuable. “I think COVID really brought us closer. And I think that that kind of… I think that that stuck,” said Davis.
The UPLIFT Community Resource Center is committed to collaboration, not competition, according to Davis. “We’re not interested in duplicating services,” Davis stressed. The grant money was used for a new roof on the auditorium, the construction of a large commercial kitchen, and the conversion of office spaces for the city of Eureka’s Economic Development Division, as well the new space for UPLIFT.
The city’s UPLIFT program already works closely with organizations like Betty Kwan Chinn’s Day Center, the Eureka Rescue Mission, St. Vincent de Paul, and Free Meal, to coordinate services for homeless and low income community members, explained Davis. Adding that there is more work to be done both on the building and in the area of community building, but he expressed hope that the new location could help with that growth going forward. “The closer we work with our community partners, the more impact we can have.”
Although the new UPLIFT hub in Eureka is not meant for those needing emergency shelter needs or emergency responses, Davis emphasized that that the UPLIFT team could get assistance from the city’s Crisis Alternative Response of Eureka (CARE) team as needed, or otherwise refer a person in crisis to the available mental or behavioral health services within the city.
The resource center also has a small space for children to entertain themselves while parents are visiting UPLIFT. [Photo by Ryan Hutson]
The newly renovated Eureka Municipal Auditorium, with its $938,000 COVID-19 relief renovation, represents more than just a restored building—it’s a symbol of community resilience and potential. As the city’s Special Projects Manager, Jeff Davis envisions a future where the 2,300-capacity auditorium could host everything from roller skating events and concerts to serving as a critical warming center during emergencies. “We want to restore this place to what it was,” Davis said, noting the building’s rich history that includes past performances by world-famous performers like the Grateful Dead, when it was still in use as a concert venue.
The pandemic, which presented challenges that the city had not faced since the Influenza Flu of 1918, and initially seemed like an insurmountable challenge, ultimately became a catalyst for innovation and a source for community growth. The COVID-19 funding not only enabled the creation of the UPLIFT Community Resource Center but also demonstrated the city’s commitment to serving its most vulnerable residents during unprecedented times.
At the ribbon-cutting event, Eureka Mayor Kim Bergel, seen here at the entrance to UPLIFT at 1111 E Street after the ribbon had been cut, was on hand to welcome visitors. [Photo by Ryan Hutson]
Not only does the new UPLIFT Community Resource Center provide a wide range of services and programs, with a focus on assisting low and moderate-income individuals in the community, Davis also teased that the Muni could host large events in Eureka’s future, being thankful for the COVID-19 funding which made the new roof possible.
For now, the UPLIFT Center is open from 10 AM to 2 PM weekdays at 1111 E Street in Eureka, but city leaders say the facility will continue to evolve based on feedback and emerging needs.
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Nice too see are tax dollers going too some thing beneficial too help those less fortunate in are community. Once word gets around homeless from other areas will come here and get some free releif from there day too day drudgery. Keep up the good work Eureka.
“Leftover COVID Funding?” Huh?
Elon, it’s time to go out and collect all those “Leftover COVID Grants” before the money is all stolen…
Am I the only one suspicious of the motives of Grant-Funded Organizations?
Wow. All that money, shiny new place. How does that help the homeless? Like their giant, fuel guzzling pickups they drive around town. Not quite liberal environmental Humboldt, right? Tons of technology, but where’s the housing?
I have been homeless a few times. No alcohol or drug issues, just incompatibility with capitalism. All these guys did was point me to a landlord ripping people off. No other assistance whatsoever. Driving around all day and stopping to chat with street people is not providing housing.
Betty didn’t help with a job or housing. I cannot find work. I cannot secure safe housing. I am a senior. No one helps.
Rents skyrocket. Marin county prices for rooms in this county. Is that liberalism or just more market capitalism? We know the real answer to that…
Less fancy facilities, people, more actual HELP.
It’s America. We NEED Giant Pickups with Matching Ranger Bass Boats…
Visit Lake County is you want to see some Grant-Funded Organizations, and a large population of Big Ladies who work for the GFO…
POM, really? was that a necessary jab?
Actually, Lake County Resource Center provides a shelter, Head-Start, MSW’s, and an MFT for Traumatised Children…
They have a budget based on 3.1 million dollars, and, you can see the photos on their website for yourself.
LCRC has existed for decades, and employs about 50.
I don’t know if they got COVID money…
Who are they jabbing? Who is GFO. “Big ladies” referring to weight or ? Thought permanently on monitoring was being sarcastic in first sentence…I’m confused.
Hmm… Wheel chair gonna make it up those stairs ???
Well Bozo, There is a wheelchair ramp on the south side of the building. Keep it real Bozo.
The ramp doesn’t lead to that doorway. It goes into the main auditorium.
I’m struggling to see where, after spending a ton of money, they do anything new or different than already existing services.
For starters, they can now offer those services without getting rained on.
Yeah. And some other stuff for the cause.
Just think what could be done with the money Gamin put aside, to Trump proof us.
Ask anybody if they want a roof over their head, or to be Trump proof.
Dollars to donuts there’s people out there of both opinions.
IMO they were smart to spend one-time grant money on a single project to save a historic building from dry rot and mold. I’m not so sure the City needs to fund UPLIFT though. It’s best to leave that work to NGOs
Nope i have worked for NGOs for decades and they just aren’t stable enough to provide a relatable, consistent systemic housing support hub. They don’t work well generally for many things including the foster system i worked in because NGOs have to do all their own fund raising and marketing and networking etc etc and if the leader goes or staff does they often fold and all their work and knowledge goes with them and even before that they are too busy reinventing the business infrastructure for their own little operation to sometimes end up even providing any real services. People in need end up having to patch together support from a bunch of little NGOs which is confusing and exhausting and frustrating when after doing so the NGO disappears. I called it “Fractured funding”. Also NGO’s are too often run by one person and too often benevolent dictators, who are lauded in public as heros by people who don’t have to find out directly the problems associated with those heros’ limitations/biases etc. Running and NGO is often a job that attracts people who work better on their own or want to rather than as part of a larger team and just doesn’t have the checks and balances and stability of more team run entity. Also keeping an eye on aka regulating NGOs is much more difficult than when an organization is centralized and consistent. The NGO’s are great for icing on the cake type programs and for trying new things to test them out but not for basic stable community infrastructure which in this fast changing highly mobile world is more and more vital for any semblance of unity and community. Can’t just “Go West young man!” Nor homestead nor colonialize nor often stay in once place with any autonomy over doing so and so we need new stable entities to offset that imbalance .
Instead of local “Heroes” and come and go little non profits (who have to do their own marketing and business infrastructure, form all sorts of alliances and therefore often end up putting their energy into surviving more than into services) and random acts of kindness and charity, the center which i am not afflicted with, is a stable consistent place with teams and the infrastructure and knowledge and experienced gained will stay with the center no matter staff and leaders come and go. Try being homeless for a month or three and you’ll see more clearly.
Read my other comment above that includes some things about what “Already exists” including Betty Chin and also LE who we expect to deal with the civic duty (never mind moral) that we have to take care of our social ecosystem if we want healthier and safer public spaces and that we have ignored forever and the compound interest on what we wouldn’t pay has come due as evident in the explosion of homeless folks across the country.
Thank you to all involved!!!!
There was research done on community resiliency after natural disasters and New Zealand was far ahead of so many or all other places ; the researchers wondered why so did more investigating and found that the community in Christ Church and surrounding areas, or where ever the big earthquake was, already had so much systemic, stable, consistent community connections in place , connections that didn’t rely on individuals but on a community system, to check on vulnerable members that they were able to use the existing infrastructure and prior practice to more quickly check on everyone (when suddenly all were vulnerable at that point) .
About time the US invests proactively in community support because with folks being so mobile unlike many generations ago, building community doesn’t happen passively by proximity (even back then it didn’t entirely of course though people could see who was struggling and help even if behind the scenes) and has to be more consciously created and in a way that is nimble and responsive to a community whose member may often change and not “Be from here”. Random acts of kindness are not enough to optimize community health and safety.