St. Mary's Dining Room & partners Announce Homeless Shelter Units

St. Mary’s Dining Room To Build Hundreds Of Low-Barrier, Temporary Shelter Units For Homeless

Today, an unprecedented partnership to address the homeless crisis in Stockton was announced at a press conference with St. Mary’s Dining Room, City of Stockton, San Joaquin County, Health Plan of San Joaquin, and Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center. Through a collaborative effort that resulted in more than $16 million in funding, St. Mary’s Dining Room will soon have low-barrier space for hundreds of the most vulnerable individuals in Stockton who are unsheltered, including women, seniors, and individuals with disabilities.

St. Mary’s Dining Room – one of the largest homeless service agencies in San Joaquin County – received $6.5 million from the Board of Supervisors through the City of Stockton that propelled its unique homeless shelter project forward, an additional $3.6 million from the City of Stockton, $5.4 million from the Health Plan of San Joaquin, and $2 million from Dignity Health. St. Mary’s has worked with Siegfried Engineering of Stockton to design a project that will include hundreds of modular units by late 2024.

“This project advances our mission to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring,” said Petra Linden, CEO of St. Mary’s Dining Room. “It is a collaborative and transformational effort to address homelessness by providing the most vulnerable a safe place to stay while working to address their barriers to permanent housing. We are grateful to the City of Stockton, San Joaquin County, Health Plan of San Joaquin, and Dignity Health for helping to bring this unique and critical project to fruition. Together we will move hundreds of people off the street and into temporary shelter, and eventually, with the support of our partner agencies, social services staff, and housing navigation teams, we will move them into permanent housing.”

“The Pathways project is another example of public, private, non-profit partnerships meeting the fundamental needs in our community,” said Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln. “Homelessness is a crisis in our city and across our state. We are working together to bring collaborative solutions and true healing to Stockton’s most vulnerable population.”

“This unique partnership, between the City and County and those who are direct service providers, is the formula for addressing these critical needs in our community,” said Stockton City Manager Harry Black. “Each partner agency brings the best of what it does, together with funding, for a project that will make a difference for those experiencing homelessness in Stockton.”

“The County has invested in diverse solutions to address the crisis of homelessness,” shared Chair Robert Rickman, San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors. “The Pathways Project is unique for not only its diverse partnership, but also the need that the 300 temporary shelters that will serve up to 600 unhoused individuals per year will fill in the continuum of housing for the diverse unhoused population.”

Once constructed, the low-barrier units will provide short-term housing for those in need of non-congregate sheltering, offering half individual bedrooms and half doubles. Communities of approximately 20 units will share common space that includes a kitchenette, meeting room, and outdoor space. Sections within a community will be designated for guests with specific needs such as women, seniors and those needing recuperative care after being discharged from a hospital.

“We are confident that this collaboration will result in access for Health Plan of San Joaquin members and other community residents who are unsheltered. We are proud to support a model that aligns with our objective to create equity for our diverse community and believe it will improve our ability to coordinate mental health services, substance use disorder treatment and care management,” said Lizeth Granados, CEO for Health Plan of San Joaquin.

“Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center and St. Mary’s Dining Room have a long-standing commitment to collaboration and serving our community members who are unhoused,” said Donald J. Wiley, President and CEO, Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center. “Over the past three years, Dignity Health has invested more than $219 million in local community benefits and amenities, and we are proud to support the Pathways Project in expanding the number of recuperative care and non-congregate, low-barrier shelter units in partnership with the City, County, and Health Plan of San Joaquin. This project highlights the importance of public-private partnership and how innovative approaches can be implemented when all partners have an aligned vision to ensure our unhoused community members have a safe place to obtain housing and services,” Mr. Wiley continued. “We know that this project could have not come to fruition without everyone coming together, especially our direct service providers and those with lived expertise providing valuable input in the process.”

The project will fill the critical gap of non-congregate shelter for the clients that St. Mary’s already serves through its daytime programs and services. In addition, Pathways will remove the four major barriers to accessing congregate shelters by accommodating partners and pets and providing privacy and security for property. The on-site location of the units will enable guests to easily access the Dining Room, Shower and Clothing Center, Dental and Medical Clinics and the Resource Center. The social services team can provide consistent support and connections to resources that will shorten the pathway to permanent housing. The average stay is projected to be six months.

For additional information about St. Mary’s Dining Room and the Pathways Project, please contact Petra Linden, CEO at plinden@stmarysdiningroom.org or (209) 467-0703.