San Rafael has hired a new manager for its homelessness program as the city contends with an increasingly pressing and visible problem.

Marc Sabin, who has more than 30 years of experience in social services, will lead the city’s efforts to seek funding for services, identify opportunities for temporary shelter and get more people into supportive housing.

“Really, the first 60 to 90 days is listening and learning what the needs are,” said Sabin, who started the job on Dec. 1. “My goal is to continue and build on the great work the city is already doing.”

The position of homeless program manager has been vacant since Andrew Hening left the city in June to continue work as an independent consultant on homeless initiatives at Opening Doors Marin.

Hening, who was hired in 2016, left full-time employment in 2020 at a monthly salary of $10,952. He remained a year longer on a part-time contract for $150 an hour.

Sabin, who was picked from a field of 82 applicants, has a starting annual salary of $144,900.

“Marc comes to us with extensive experience and has had great successes working with a very similar system of care for people experiencing homelessness in Santa Clara and San Mateo,” said Cristine Alilovich, assistant city manager. “He is extremely passionate and dedicated to this work and will be a great asset to the citywide homeless team.”

After a stint volunteering in the Peace Corps that started in the 1980s, Sabin went on to become program director at Haight Ashbury Free Clinics in San Francisco. He established a program to provide services to homeless youths in the historic neighborhood.

Sabin held similar positions for nonprofits in San Mateo and Santa Clara County and most recently was administrator at Crestwood Behavioral Health in Lompoc, Santa Barbara County.

San Rafael Mayor Kate Colin said she’s delighted to have Sabin join the city.

“He has a long and extensive experience supporting the unhoused community,” Colin said. “And he will be vital for helping the city develop and implement appropriate solutions around homelessness in the months and years ahead.”

At a City Council meeting last week, Sabin and San Rafael police Chief David Spiller updated officials on the city’s multiphased approach to tackling homelessness that Hening introduced in June.

Sabin said one of his first tasks has been spearheading a grant proposal due Dec. 31 for $450,000 to support mental health services.

Spiller said there are 36 people living at the city-sponsored camp under Highway 101 at Fourth and Hetherton streets. The site has three portable restrooms, three hand-washing stations and 24 charging outlets. Showers are provided once a week through a mobile program. Donated food is delivered three to four times a week.

Twenty-three case managers are assigned to support the campers. So far, 11 campers have been housed, Spiller said.

Sixteen people are on a waiting list to get into the camp, he said.

Colin said she hopes for a better solution than the tents under the freeway. The city is working with the county to host a summit this spring to consider plans to address this and other issues, she said.

The existing temporary shelter is “not good enough,” Colin said.

“We’re 100% behind eliminating chronic homelessness,” she said. “That is a goal we can all aspire to.”

Officials said the city does not plan to operate the camp in perpetuity.

“Our plan is to make sure that people get housed and move into these projects that are coming online and not be permanently in the service support area,” City Manager Jim Schutz said. “But it’s intended to be a short-term temp solution because that’s where people were already living.”

The city is counting on more housing through Project Roomkey, Project Homekey and Homeward Bound’s Miller Street project, officials said.

The city contributed $750,000 to the Mill Street project, which is expected to be completed this summer. It will offer 32 apartments with supportive housing.

Forty hotel room beds are available in San Rafael through Project Roomkey, which, like Project Homekey, is a state program.

The Project Homekey site on Kerner Boulevard will become operational once the Mill Street project is complete.

The Project Homekey site on Casa Buena Drive in Corte Madera is expected to open 18 apartments this spring, and another proposal envisions 43 apartments on South Eliseo Drive in Larkspur.

“This is my first time in government work. I’ve always been with nonprofits,” Sabin said. “With COVID and everything else, the needs in Marin, and a lot of places, are greater than ever. The need for flexibility and being nimble are a critical part of how folks collaborate and the city of San Rafael is working with some amazing partners.”

Sign up for email newsletters