St. Mary's Dining Room to Operate Homeless Shelter Campus

On Tuesday, September 12th, the Stockton City Council unanimously approved (7-0) entering a contract, providing operational funding, and recognized the transfer of a sublease to St. Mary’s Dining Room for operation of a campus-wide homeless shelter. St. Mary’s has assumed operations of the facilities that were formerly Stockton Shelter for the Homeless, and the expansion project referred to as the Navigation Center. These shelters, combined with its Pathways project, will expand St. Mary's sheltering services to 800 beds. St. Mary’s will provide low-barrier, 24/7 shelter operations that include providing security and facility management for all shelter buildings, beds, showers, food, and case management for Stockton’s unsheltered homeless.

“Homelessness is a larger issue that will take years and years to address, but I really believe that sufficient shelter beds can end unsheltered homelessness in our community,” shared Petra Linden, St. Mary’s Dining Room CEO, during her presentation at the City Council Meeting.

On Monday, July 31, 2023, the City of Stockton declared a Local Emergency to protect nearly 250 unhoused individuals, including families with children, women, and men, who were at risk of being displaced by the announced closure of the Stockton Shelter for the Homeless. The Local Emergency was ratified by the City Council on Thursday, August 3, 2023. Efforts began immediately to address the announced closure of the Shelter, transferring operations to St. Mary’s Dining Room on August 16, 2023, which allowed 250 guests at Stockton Shelter for the Homeless to continue to receive services without relocation or disruption of services.

“The City has worked quickly and collaboratively with our community partners to address this emergency,” said Mayor Kevin Lincoln. “Where we are today is a result of public, private, non-profit partnerships coming together to serve and protect our most vulnerable population.”

While working through the process of transferring the agreement to St. Mary’s, it was determined that operations of the Stockton Shelter for the Homeless buildings resulted in a shortfall and would require $10,760,460, or $3,586,820 per year for a period of three years. San Joaquin County identified and approved $5,380,000 in operational funding on August 22, 2023, and the City Council has approved the same amount to address the funding gap.

“Working with the County, we were able to avert a closure and avoid a gap in services for our unsheltered community members,” said City Manager Harry Black. “At the same time, this is a unique opportunity to establish a single integrated site with turnkey services through an established service provider that is supported by the City, County, and the community.”

For additional information, please contact the City of Stockton Community Relations Officer or visit www.stocktonca.gov/news.