The team at Generation Housing attended the grand opening event of Caritas Village, a first-of-its-kind model to address homelessness operated by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa, on September 9th, 2022. Caritas Village is a seven-year vision in the making, which broke ground prior to the opening of Generation Housing – and would have otherwise received highest endorsement from Generation Housing.
At the heart of Caritas Village is Caritas Center, which features multiple wrap-around services that will help participants navigate their journey to permanent housing, while also preventing at-risk people from falling into homelessness. A 192-bed family shelter, childcare, healthcare clinic (operated by Santa Rosa Community Health), drop-in center, and 38 recuperative beds are available in a facility built from the ground up with critical, life-changing services in mind. Next door, Caritas Homes includes 128 affordable homes built in partnership with experienced nonprofit developer Burbank Housing.
“Caritas will be the only facility of its kind to bring all these elements under one roof, provided by THE experts in the community,” said Jennielynn Holmes, CEO of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa. “By replicating this model, we can dramatically alleviate if not end homelessness, not only in the county, but across the state and beyond. Our organization and all of our partners are ready to share the blueprint and invite others to the table. So many cities around the country are working hard to end homelessness, and we want to link arms with others who share our mission.”
