Visalia Navigation Center to help homeless build stable futures

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – Tulare County Hope for the Homeless is opening the Visalia Navigation Center, a short-term living center to launch homeless people down safer paths – directors say it is the first of its kind in California.

TC Hope initiated the project in 2019 with the goal of helping the 1,053 documented homeless people in Tulare County.

The Visalia Navigation Center on 3525 N. Court St. will have 60 beds for men and 40 beds for women, including separate spaces for families and seniors. The center will also provide three meals a day and mental and behavioral health services.

There will be about 40 people to staff the facility, but they will expect residents to help garden and cook. Tulare County Hope for the Homeless Vice President Brian Malison says these skills will help them get jobs.

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"We're going to be able to take an individual who is struggling on the streets, provide them safety, and give them care. We can do that all right here in one location," Malison said.

He says the short-term living center will take away common barriers to success so residents can focus on improving their health and learning employable skills.

Part of that means the center will provide storage for residents' belongings and kennels for their dogs. They will be able to keep a total of 20 dogs on the property and they have a small dog park where they can play.

"We're the only facility in town that's going to be able to meet all the needs of the people that are out there. All the things that an unhoused person needs will be available to them here," Tulare County Hope for the Homeless President Bob Link said.

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The staff will represent a variety of local organizations, including Kings/Tulare Homeless Alliance, Tulare County Behavioral Health, and CSET employment services.

"We know it's difficult for anybody navigating, you know, different nonprofits and governments and all of the services that are in a lot of spots. So the hope is to bring those services here and make it as easily accessible for anybody who may need to utilize them," CSET Communications Director Jeff Forbes said.

Residents can stay for 90-180 days as long as they make progress.

"Anybody who may need the services, we encourage them to call 211 and get on the waiting list to come into the Visalia Navigation Center," Forbes said.

The center will open in October, and while it is not a permanent living situation for residents, directors hope it makes a permanent impact.