Despite being a gloomy day, a light beamed on Wednesday for those most in need in Stockton.
The Housing Authority of the County of San Joaquin (HACSJ), San Joaquin County Behavioral Health Services (SJCBHS) and the city of Stockton held a grand opening ribbon-cutting on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 709 N. Center St. in celebration of the new Park Center Apartments in downtown.
“When you’re able to provide housing and health care at the same place at the same time, you’re giving individuals the opportunity to know that they are valued and to give them hope,” said Genevieve Valentine, Director of San Joaquin County Health Care Services. “Oftentimes when people are working, they can’t always get to treatment, so when able to come and provide treatment within their housing units gives us a really good opportunity to make sure that they’re not missing appointments and they’re staying healthy.”
Park Center apartments are the newest development by the participating agencies in support of individuals experiencing homelessness and mental illness.
“What we provide our clients are case management services and case management includes rehabilitation,” said Sasha Jackson, deputy director of housing for health division for Behavioral Health Services. “It’s like skill building, helping them manage their mental health symptoms. It includes linkage to psychiatry, groups, just overall support to help them maintain and sustain housing and navigate through the community.”
Peter Ragsdale, executive director of the Housing Authority of the County of San Joaquin, said 21 residents moved into Park Center after Thanksgiving Day. He said there are 30 units still available. However, residents are accepted by referral only.
“All of the referrals for these apartments come from behavioral health, we do our housing eligibility, but all of the referrals are folks that are already in the behavioral health bubble,” Ragsdale said. “These are SMI households, meaning severe mental illness. These are folks that need the stability of affordable housing, as well as case management from behavioral health.”
Ragsdale said this is the fourth project in collaboration with the San Joaquin County Behavioral Health Services.
“It’s sort of silly, right, to do some of the preventative and counseling things that are interventions for mental health without a stable place for people to live,” Ragsdale said. “We’re super proud of this. It’s an adaptive reuse project of a former commercial building, and this was a parking lot, and we have 51 new apartments on Park and Center Street in Stockton.”
Ragsdale said the city of Stockton was a financing partner.
“Today is more than just a symbol of dedication for our county, our city of Stockton, and the Housing Authority, but it’s a moment for us to actually restore hope, compassion and progress for a community that so desperately is asking for it,” Valentine said.
‘Opportunity to heal’
Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi shared with the crowd that she originally did not see the vision for the project.
“You look at these buildings, and it’s difficult to comprehend what can be made. There’s a vacant lot that people used to dump on all the time next door. This was a parking lot. There wasn’t even that building here anymore. But now we have something that everybody can be proud of,” Fugazi said. “Knowing that this is going to provide stability and dignity is important.”
Fugazi also said during her remarks that next week she will be “launching an ad hoc on affordability.”
San Joaquin County board of supervisors chair Paul Canepa said during the ceremony, that it was projects like Park Center that “renew” his faith in humanity.
“Everyone deserves a nice place to live, and whatever your circumstance is and what gets you to that place in life is important,” Canepa said.
Construction for Park Center lasted about 18 months, Ragsdale told The Record.
“This project does and continues to show the commitment of us as a community breaking cycles of homelessness, providing wraparound services, and ensuring that everyone in our community deserves the opportunity to heal, grow, have a home and to thrive,” Valentine said. “We are here to not just open doors, literally, but open doors to people to restore hope and recovery and to say we’re willing to shovel ground in order to make this happen.”
According to the Housing Authority of the County of San Joaquin funding came from multiple sources.
- $1.8 million grant awarded to HACSJ by SJCBHS through the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA)
- $9.85 million for construction from additional SJBHS grants awarded through MHSA and Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA)
- $2.2 million city of Stockton HOME funds grant
- $1.9 million award from July 2023 in Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC)
Park Center consists of two buildings.
The historic office building, located at 709 N. Center St., was redesigned to include 23 residential units and a manager’s unit. A new three-story building was constructed to include 27 residential units, a community room, computer room, and offices for management and residential mental health services, according to Housing Authority of the County of San Joaquin. The buildings are connected via a second-floor bridge, allowing for elevator access.
Permanent supportive housing properties
The Housing Authority of the County of San Joaquin has 286 units of permanent supportive housing over seven different properties, Ragsdale said.
Park Center is the fourth collaboration between SJCBHS and HACSJ, creating 128 permanent supportive units along with 30 transitional apartments with a BRIDGE housing program, according to a Housing Authority news release.
“These properties support mental health consumers, homeless veterans, former foster youth, CalWORKs families, and others who have broken the cycle of homelessness and have a home to build a foundation for the next chapter in their lives,” Ragsdale said.
The agencies are expecting to break ground in early 2026 on a “new permanent supportive project adjacent to the N. Stanislaus transitional site.” This will be the fifth collaborative project between both agencies.
“For years, people in our community have been asking for safe, stable, affordable places to live. They’re not asking someday, they’re not asking in theory, they’re asking for right now,” Assembly member Rhodesia Ransom said. “This Park Center is an answer to that call. This is a housing crisis that we are addressing. Everyone deserves a place to call home, not a temporary stop, not a maybe home.”
Anyone who needs behavioral health help or support can contact the San Joaquin County Behavioral Health Services at 1-888-468-9370 or 1-209-468-9350 ACCESS/ 24-7 helpline. For the San Joaquin Mental Health Crisis Intervention call (209) 468-8686.
To learn more about the Housing Authority of the County of San Joaquin, visit hacsj.org, and to learn more about San Joaquin County Behavioral Health Services, visit sjcbhs.org.
Record reporter Angelaydet Rocha covers business and community news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @AngelaydetRocha. To support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at
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