After years of fundraising, planning, design, and construction, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa is set to open its Caritas Center family shelter and homeless services center in downtown Santa Rosa in September. Staff from many City departments, such as Housing & Community Services, Planning & Economic Development, Police, and others, as well as the Housing Authority, Santa Rosa Planning Commission, and City Council have worked closely with Catholic Charities to help fund and develop the innovative project.
Caritas Center’s 48,587 square feet at A and 6th Streets will include a family shelter, interim housing for longer durations of stay and transition to permanent housing, childcare center, drop-in center, and recuperation shelter, as well as a new health clinic partnership with Santa Rosa Community Health. Residents will receive full wrap-around services, including case management plans, mental health services, educational and job training, and more.
Once Caritas Center opens in September, Catholic Charities will consolidate Santa Rosa homeless services currently provided at the Homeless Services Center, Family Support Center, the Nightingale Program, and cold weather Warming Center activations into one location at Caritas Center. The City’s Fiscal Year 22/23 budget provides $432,000 for operation of these homeless services for the community.
Caritas Center is the homeless services component of Catholic Charities’ larger Caritas Village project, which features two phases of affordable housing development with Burbank Housing. Phase One is currently under construction adjacent to Caritas Center with financial assistance from the State of California and Santa Rosa Housing Authority. The project is being developed as a national model to provide permanent solutions to reduce homelessness – a top priority of the City Council and the Santa Rosa community.
More information about Caritas Center and the Caritas Village projects is available on the City’s website and from Catholic Charities at: caritas-village.org.
More information about the City’s efforts to address homelessness and provide affordable housing in Santa Rosa is available at srcity.org/Housing-CommunityServices.