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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 1, 2023
VICTORVILLE, Calif. — The City of Victorville will host a ribbon cutting ceremony on Dec. 8 at 9:30 a.m., for its Wellness Center, a key component in the City’s strategy to reduce homelessness in Victorville.
Victorville’s Wellness Center will be the first low-barrier, non-congregate emergency shelter to offer interim housing and wraparound support services with a medical and recuperative care clinic on-site.
The non-congregate design of the modular housing units will offer 110 separate units with a minimum capacity of 170 beds. The center will include community spaces, a dog kennel, community garden, and recreational sports courts. Altogether, the housing units and support service buildings comprise 25,920-square-feet of new construction on 4.5 acres of City-owned land located at 16902 First St.
Construction of the Wellness Center was funded primarily through a $28 million Homekey Grant from the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
Housing operations at the Center are expected to begin in the coming weeks before the holidays and will continue to ramp up into the month of January.
The nonprofits selected to provide services at the Victorville Wellness Center – Hope the Mission and Symba Center – will participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony. Elected officials, community partners, Victorville Homelessness Solutions Task Force members, and other dignitaries will be in attendance.
The City will host open houses and guided tours of the campus for the broader community Dec. 8 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Dec. 9 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Community Members can register for these tours at vv.city/wcopenhouse.
“We are proud to be among the cities taking action to address the issue of homelessness head on,” said Victorville Mayor Debra Jones. “Our Victorville Wellness Center is the result of tremendous collaboration from our community including task force members and service organizations who helped us envision a center of hope and healing to break the cycle of homelessness.”
WHO: City of Victorville
WHAT: Ribbon Cutting Ceremony & Guided Tours of Wellness Center
WHEN: Dec. 8 at 9:30 a.m.
WHERE: Victorville Wellness Center Campus, 16902 First St. in Victorville, CA
PARKING: Media Parking will be available at the Wellness Center Campus.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS:
9:30 a.m.: Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
-Introduction
-Invocation
-National Anthem
-Welcome, Victorville City Manager, Keith C. Metzler
-Message of Collaboration, Victorville Mayor Debra Jones
-Message of Support, State Director of Housing & Community Development,
Gustavo Velasquez
-Message about Constructing the Wellness Center, Victorville City Planner, Scott Webb
-Message from Wellness Center Operators
-Dr. Shawn Smith, Symba Center CEO
-Ken Craft, Hope the Mission CEO
-Presentations from Dignitaries
-Concluding Remarks, Victorville City Manager, Keith C. Metzler
-Ribbon Cutting & Pictures
10:15 a.m.: Guided Tours
10:50 a.m.: Reception
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