Pathways STAIR Navigation Center opens, to house 45 homeless citizens

The Daily Californian – By Ryan Gellar

The Pathways STAIR Navigation Center opened Tuesday, complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. inaugurated by Mayor Jesse Arreguín and a tour of the freshly painted facilities.

The center, located on Second Street between Cedar and Virginia streets, will offer shelter, meals, showers and laundry facilities for up to 45 people, as well as a variety of services, including assistance in finding permanent housing.

“The goal is to transform lives by moving people off the streets and toward self-sufficiency,” Arreguín said at the event.

The temporary modular structures have been customized, with two communal sleeping units with private partitions, a restroom facility, a kitchen and community room, a laundry room, a services office and a “welcome hut.”

All structures are equipped with ramps for accessibility, and between the buildings are artificial turf sections and plants growing in troughs, with shade structures and wood-hewn benches.

Paul Buddenhagen, the city’s Health, Housing and Community Services Department director, said the Pathways center will begin its services Wednesday, and that the city will prioritize citizens who have been homeless for more than a year and people with disabilities.

Continue reading…