photo credit: Marc Albert/KRCB
Kerry Rego spoke on behalf of SAY and its clients on Monday, January 8, 2024.

Instead, advocates say those changes are prompting a crisis in Sonoma County that could leave dozens of local young people out on the streets.

At a Monday press conference at Santa Rosa's Social Advocates for Youth, the nonprofit also known by the acronym SAY, local officials vowed not to let that happen.

"I think the county's number one concern is really the 67 individuals that are housed through the organization, SAY, as well as the services that they provide," said Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt.

"We had an all-hands meeting last Thursday, it is unfortunate that we don't have more lead time, to be honest. As to the future of the organization itself, that's a separate matter," Rabbitt continued.

The big change, according to SAY staff, are regulations barring federal grants from being spent on facilities that house more than 20 young people under a single roof.

"That's one piece of many things that have led to where SAY is, and other organizations," said Susan Fette, organizations' interim chief executive officer.

Fette said that although the new regulations were announced conceptually several years back, she only became aware of finalized rules, and their impact, in November.

Fette said other, similar nonprofit organizations have applied for and failed to obtain a waiver from the rules, and therefore SAY hasn't put the energy into applying for one.

Regardless of where or whether money is found, Kerry Rego, a professor at Sonoma State and Santa Rosa Junior College, and a former SAY youth client herself, said the facility and services are critically important.

"If young people don't have the basics, a roof over their head, warmth so that they can stay healthy, food, the ability to make a living, hope for their future, that turns into desperation, and desperation is really dangerous for themselves, for their families, for our community," Rego said. 

SAY staff are attempting to assemble some kind of bridge funding, buying the organization time to raise funds from locals. That's in hopes of finding a way to meet the new regulations and continue operating.