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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 15, 2021
VICTORVILLE, Calif. — Today, the City of Victorville announced that it has been awarded a $28M Homekey Grant from the California Department of Housing and Community Development for the construction and operational support of its Wellness Center Campus, a critical component in the City’s strategy to reduce homelessness. Combining a low-barrier emergency shelter, recuperative care facility, medical clinic, interim housing, and wraparound support services; Victorville’s Wellness Center Campus will be the first facility of its kind in San Bernardino County. Construction of the 4.5-acre campus, to be located at 16902 First Street, will begin in 2022.
“We are extremely grateful to the state for this grant that will help the City of Victorville achieve our vision of constructing this facility to help homeless individuals stabilize and rebuild their lives,” said Victorville Mayor Debra Jones. “Our Wellness Center Campus was born from a strategic plan developed with our Homelessness Solutions Task Force just two years ago. We couldn’t be more excited to begin putting these grant monies to good use in tackling the issue of homelessness in our City.”
The Wellness Center Campus has been planned with a housing first approach with low-barrier or minimal requirements for entry. It will offer interim housing and supportive services for homeless and those who are at risk of becoming homeless. The non-congregate design of the modular housing units will offer 110 separate units with a minimum capacity of 170 beds. Along with interim housing beds, the Wellness Center Campus will include community space and offer a wide variety of support services such as a medical clinic, recuperative care, substance abuse counseling, job training and placement, public benefits assistance, pet care and housing navigation.
Additional amenities such as a community garden, recreational sports courts, dog kennel and landscaped open space have been incorporated into the design. Altogether the housing units and support service buildings will comprise 25,920-square-feet of new construction.
“Homelessness is a pervasive challenge throughout California, and it’s one of the issues of most concern to our community. We developed a vision and our team took action to address the issue of homelessness head on in Victorville,” said Victorville City Manager Keith Metzler. “Being awarded this grant is validation that our vision is on-track to positively impact Victorville’s future. We can’t wait to get started on the construction.”
The City of Victorville is the first jurisdiction in Southern California to benefit from the second round of the state’s Homekey Grant program, which was created by the Governor and Legislature “to make real progress in addressing homelessness” in the next two years.
The City of Victorville has the second-highest concentration of homeless persons in all of San Bernardino. More information about the City of Victorville’s homelessness solutions strategy is available online at VictorvilleCA.gov/HomelessnessSolutions.
Located in Southern California at the high-point between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Victorville is the leading city for both industry and retail in the High Desert region. Victorville is a growing, vibrant community that is home to approximately 135,000 residents and some of the area’s largest employers. Clean air, abundant mountain vistas, family-friendly recreational activities, spectacular sunsets and breathtaking night skies entice locals and visitors alike to fall in love with this city that is within a few hours of SoCal beaches, National Parks, mountain retreats, and other major attractions. Ontario International Airport is less than an hour away. Learn more about the City of Victorville at VictorvilleCA.gov.
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