Safe shelter is available for victims of violent hate crimes, Arch Collaborative says

Para leer el artículo en español, haz clic aquí.

In July alone, there were three reported hate incidents and crimes in Shasta and Butte counties. 

A group of Chico teens allegedly harassed an international student on the campus of Chico State, with one said to have brandished a knife. And a group of juveniles in Redding were investigated after allegedly throwing rocks and tortillas at the home of a Latino resident while yelling slurs. 

But the most serious alleged crime was committed by an adult: 68-year-old Timothy Ray Thompson of Igo, who reportedly used a shotgun to fire multiple times at a Spanish-speaking family’s home while he screamed racial epithets. According to the Shasta County Sheriff, the family was standing outside as he opened fire; they ran inside, and no one was injured. 

Whether attacks come from an intimate partner or from a random stranger motivated by hate, community members targeted by violent crime may not feel safe in their own home in the aftermath of an attack.

In time, as the case moves through the legal system, the District Attorney’s Office may connect victims with relocation services, but access to that support can take days weeks or months.

That’s why Kimberly Johnson, the CEO of local nonprofit Arch Collaborative, wants the community to know that her organization is ready to provide safe shelter for victims of all violent crime.

The organization is already working with the county’s justice system to interview victims, connect families with medical services and relocate the victims of domestic violence out of unsafe living situations.

But during a recent conversation with a Shasta Scout reporter, Johnson emphasized that her organization is intent on offering safe shelter on a same-day basis to any victim of violent crime, including hate crimes. 

“We’re figuring out a way to leverage our existing framework that we have in place to ensure that no victim of violence goes unserved,” Johnson told Shasta Scout. 

In the days following the shooting in Igo, local justice agencies responded to the incident by providing dispatch translation services, sending law enforcement to respond, holding press conferences and issuing multiple press releases on the need to combat hate directed toward people’s identities.

The District Attorney’s Office also acted quickly, arraigning Thompson on hate crime charges, assigning a prosecutor to the case and meeting with the victims to coordinate access to the California Victims Compensation Board, which assists with medical bills and possible relocation.

According to the DA, the suspect was arraigned July 11, and the assigned prosecutor made arrangements to meet with this particular family on July 14, six days after the shooting occurred.

But despite strong coordinated efforts by both local justice agencies and advocacy groups, the victims still experienced some gaps in care. Among them, concerns that the cross street of their address was shared, as well as a need for immediate relocation services to provide safe housing amid uncertainty about the alleged perpetrator’s jail status. A judge has since ordered Thompson to be held without bail due to the danger he’s believed to pose to society. 

Victims of violent hate crimes aren’t typical clients of Arch Collaborative. So part of the challenge, Johnson said, is spreading the word that their emergency housing services are available to anyone who doesn’t have a safe place to go in the aftermath of an crime, including alleged hate crimes, such as the shooting in Igo. 

She emphasized that it is her organization’s primary responsibility to coordinate with first responders — including police officers — to ensure that they know they can direct victims to Arch Collaborative immediately after any violent crime has occurred.

Arch Collaborative was created as a result of a 2024 merger between two well established organizations in Shasta County, One Safe Place and the Children’s Legacy Center, both of which serve vulnerable families.

When One Safe Place – which provides shelter and other services for victims of violence – was first established in the 1970s, the founder Gretchen Peterson opened up her own home as a shelter for abused women, ensuring her own safety from victims’ violent partners. Or as Johnson puts it, “driving around in her pickup truck with a shotgun.” 

Since then, the two organizations that eventually became Arch Collaborative have evolved alongside changing legislation, the city’s growth and shifting attitudes in the justice system regarding domestic violence.

Sometimes, Johnson explained, people’s awareness for why shelter may be needed hasn’t caught up with the present moment.

For example, Johnson said, “out in the community, people will say, ‘Oh, yeah, you are the DV shelter for women and children, and we’ve had men in our shelter pretty consistently since I’ve been in leadership there.’” 

Other types of violence that the organization has started to prioritize in recent years include human trafficking and elder abuse.

Being available to serve the victims of violent hate crime, Johnson emphasized in a recent social media post, is part of Arch Collaborative’s central mission.

The One Safe Place shelter on Benton Drive is walk-in during normal business hours. “And then we have our crisis hotline, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Johnson said, with bilingual staff or interpreters available as needed. Any law enforcement officer responding to a crime and any community member aware of a need can direct victims to the hotline number for help, she said.

Johnson said she’s interested in pursuing grants that assist in services to ensure awareness of Arch Collaborative’s services for all. Such funds could help expand the organization’s ability to advertise services for those at risk in population groups most likely to be affected by hate crimes, including those who speak Spanish as their primary language at home. 

To contact Arch Collaborative and the One Safe Place 24/7 hotline call 530-244-SAFE.

---

Do you have a correction to share? Email us: editor@shastascout.org.