Ribbon Cutting Celebrates Stockton’s Newest Affordable Housing Community
This article was originally published on Recordnet.com by Angelaydet Rocha with photos by Craig Sanders. To read the original article, Click Here.
On Wednesday, a ribbon-cutting event took place to celebrate the completion of the third phase of the new and affordable Crossway Residences project to support those in need.
“I think that the homelessness issue is a community issue and we all need to be working on that together,” said Tony Vartan, director of San Joaquin County Behavioral Health Services. “If we just leave it to one entity then other, then really we are not doing our job. We need to look at this as a community need.”
The Housing Authority County of San Joaquin (HACSJ) and the San Joaquin County Behavioral Health Services (SJCBHS) partnered together to convert former HACSJ’s administrative offices into studio apartments for the clients of SJCBHS.
“A tenant here gets an income based rent. So if their income is zero they can live here. If their income is $1,500 dollars a month they live here. But we can meet people where they are at,” Peter W. Ragsdale, executive director of Housing Authority County of San Joaquin, said.
This collaborative project brings affordable housing with a common lounge, laundry room, mail, as well as on-site supportive services to its residents in three different locations, all in Stockton.
“They will have case management services, they will have mental health services, they will have therapeutic groups, individual therapy…as well as other special skills building for individuals to continue to sharpen their skills to be able to continue living independently to be able to manage their own food, clothing, and shelter and finances.” Vartan said.
This project came in three phases, with 39 units in total. The first was Crossway at Center Street, which was fully occupied in December 2020.
The second phase was Crossway at Park Street, becoming fully occupied in February 2021.
The last is phase three, Crossway at El Dorado Street. With some finishes still needing to be completed it is expected to reach full occupancy this summer.
The living units are reserved for 20 years.
“It means a second chance. It means, you know, getting off the street and hopefully staying off the street and long term shelter,” said Gene Gibson, resident manager of Crossway Residences.
Attending the event Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln, Vice Mayor Christina Fugazi and District 6, Councilwoman Kimberly Warmsley presented a certificate of recognition to the Housing Authority of San Joaquin in honor of the ribbon cutting celebration of Crossway Residences and for their efforts in providing the community permanent and supportive housing.
“This particular project changes lives by giving hope because it’s providing an essential tool and resource and support and mechanism that are going to help those individuals who struggle and deal with behavioral health challenges to take the next steps towards their pathway of recovery,” Mayor Kevin Lincoln said. “Most importantly each and everyone of them will have a roof over their head as they you know move forward on that journey.”
