By Signal Staff
Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, and Assemblywoman Suzette Martinez Valladares, R-Santa Clarita, announced Friday that they have secured $3 million in funding from the 2022-2023 state budget for construction of the new Bridge to Home Santa Clarita Valley facility.
Established 25 years ago, this local nonprofit is dedicated to supporting individuals and families to transition out of homelessness. This funding is a critical component of ensuring Bridge to Home can continue and expand its services to meet the needs of our growing homeless community, according to a prepared statement issued by Wilk’s office.
“Securing this funding for Bridge to Home is a big win in the uphill fight to end homelessness. Transitioning unhoused individuals into safe and secure situations has been one of my top priorities as a legislator, so securing this funding is personal to me,” Wilk said in the statement. “I am so pleased that this year’s state budget will allocate millions of dollars to help in the construction of a new facility that will further serve our community.”
“California has a homeless crisis and we must do all we can to help those individuals in vulnerable situations get back on their feet,” Valladares said in the statement. “With these millions of dollars secured for Bridge to Home, those who are heartbreakingly in need can rest assured that these funds will be put to good use to give them a helping hand.”
Bridge to Home SCV serves more than 700 households a year, engages hundreds of volunteers across the community and is constructing a 18,600-square-foot facility to provide a wide variety of services, including interim housing, daily meals, medical offices, case management, counseling and job training. The awarded funds will go specifically to this new facility which, when finalized, will be Santa Clarita’s first interim housing for families and have the capacity to shelter 92 people.
Tracey Carpentier, president of the Bridge to Home board of directors, told The Signal that the $3 million in state funds is crucial to helping complete the construction of the new permanent shelter, which broke ground in March at its future Drayton Street location.
“Our new shelter project is vital to addressing homelessness in our community and we are so grateful for the support of Senator Wilk and Assemblywoman Valladares,” Carpentier said. “With this financial support, we have reached our fundraising goal to build our new interim housing facility. However, like many construction projects, we have been impacted by rising material and labor costs. As part of our capital campaign, we continue to raise funds from our community to offset these costs.”
Those interested in supporting Bridge to Home can find information on donating and volunteering at btohome.org.
