Bridge to Home serves approximately 1,000 individuals annually. On Wednesday, members of the media were invited to attend a tour of the foundation of the new homeless shelter that is set to house 92 individuals at a time come April 2024.
“We are not going to meet the demand, but it is definitely huge,” said Cherise Moore, president of the Bridge to Home board of directors.
A beam signing ceremony that commenced on July 12 had attendees signing a beam that would be put into the support of the building. It also was announced that day that running water and sewer lines were established.
Wednesday showed significant progress as almost all of the bones of the building were standing tall.
At the July event, Chris Najarro, executive director of BTH, announced that the facility will be “up and running in about a year.”
Moore — who’s also a member of the governing board of the William S. Hart Union High School District — said that construction is expected to finish in April 2024.
The facility will be the culmination of numerous years of fundraising, with support including the following:
- $5.2 million in funds secured through the efforts of L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger.
- $2 million in funds secured through the efforts of Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, and former Assemblywoman Suzette Martinez Valladares, R-Santa Clarita.
- $2 million in funds secured through the efforts of Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita.
- $2 million in funding and the land for the site gifted by the city of Santa Clarita.
Intertex General Contractors has taken the lead on developing the project into the building BTH has dreamed about.
“(We are) very, very proud to be a part of it and very excited to put this together for our community,” said Don Grissom, Intertex General Contractors project supervisor.
The 18,680-square-foot, two-story BTH shelter is located on Drayton Street in Newhall on a 2.9-acre site.
“Everything was thoughtfully put together, thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of all that we will be serving here,” said Moore. “We want to make sure that we’re taking care of our neighbors, our residents as best as we can.”
Niki Feast-Williams will be taking on the role of shelter manager at the facility.
“We are the help. We are the hope. We are the change,” said Feast-Williams.
The first floor of the shelter features the following: 24-hour security, a large functional kitchen, a technology center, offices for case managers, meeting spaces, a lounge area, a laundry room, women’s restrooms, men’s restrooms, lactation room, four family dorms, an examination room that will work in partnership with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital and a spacious dining room.
“Every month we were working with a family shelter, providing meals to them and making sure that those who were in that facility felt a sense of normalcy,” said Moore. “At dinner time, that’s an important place where that can happen, where you can have conversations with folks who might be down on their luck, where you can get back, and ways in which you don’t know how big of a difference a warm meal, a conversation, a look in the eye, a recognition that I see you makes all the difference.”
The second floor, connected by an elevator and stairs, are the primary places of housing, featuring a “women’s side,” “men’s side” and four more family dormitories.
Both the “women’s side” and “men’s side” feature restrooms, showers, a laundry room, a lounge area and a primary place of shelter. The shelter can accommodate up to 20 women and 40 men.
The family dormitories, eight in total, each feature a restroom, shower, laundry area and primary place of shelter. Each unit can accommodate a family of four, but if space allows, two family units can be combined into one if needed. Thirty-two individuals belonging to the family units can be housed at a time.
Each space was curated to provide the shelter’s clients a bridge out and a path into permanent housing.
“Our future residents, our current residents, just know that you have people who believe in you,” said Moore. “People who understand that everybody comes up against challenges in life sometimes and it’s so important to know that the family that you have from Bridge to Home isn’t your family just to date while you’re here. We’re going to be there to support you for the long run, and to make sure that you have what you need. To make sure you don’t ever feel lost or alone or ‘less than’ in any way in the future.”
