Our community has been hit hard by years of wildfires, out-of-control housing costs, and financial hardships endured by the pandemic. Many of our neighbors have lost their homes and the need for permanent affordable housing has never been more important. It is reported that nearly 3,000 people in Sonoma County are experiencing homelessness.
At Providence, we know that housing is one of the social determinants of health. That’s why our organization gave $2.2 million in 2022 to is fund Caritas Homes—a housing-focused service center, emergency family shelter, and 128 units of permanent affordable housing for those in need.
The homes are being made possible thanks to a partnership with Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa and Burbank Housing. They will be located at the current site of Catholic Charities’ aging facilities on Morgan and A Streets—which was, in fact, the site where the original Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital building once stood. Today, the site serves 2,000 people a year, but this new long-term solution will help give twice as many people housing.
Between 2019-2021, Providence funded an additional $2 million to support the construction of Caritas Center. Still under construction, the center includes a shelter, childcare center, drop-in center, and recuperative shelter. There will also be a new health clinic within the center which will be run by Santa Rosa Community Health.
Earlier this month, caregivers from Community Health Investment and members of our leadership team had the opportunity to view the construction site. Caritas Center will begin construction in March of 2021 and completed in Fall of 2022. Caritas Homes Phase One will begin construction as soon as August 2021 and will be completed in mid-to-late 2022.
This is just one of the many ways Providence is investing in the health of our community members. For more information about this affordable housing project, visit https://www.caritas-village.org/aboutcv.
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