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Housing the homeless is the focus of a new partnership announced Wednesday by the University of California, Berkeley, the city of Berkeley and various nonprofit organizations. They aim to meet the needs of unhoused residents who live or gather in People’s Park, near the university.
The partnership will make transitional housing available for community members, offering space in a converted motel while working to find them permanent housing.
According to a UC Berkeley news release, “the university, city and First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley are working together to construct and fund the operations of a new daytime drop-in center on the church’s grounds, where services and support will be provided” for those in need.
The city of Berkeley will tap a $4.7 million grant as part of the effort, and Berkeley will commit approximately $2.2 million to the project, which will offer each resident a private room, complete with a kitchenette and bathroom; linens and toiletries; housekeeping; and access to laundry facilities. Daily meal services, health care and counseling will also be made available through the nonprofit Abode Services, which will assist residents with housing solutions.
A separate daytime drop-in shelter, partly funded by UC Berkeley, will also be constructed.
Around 55 people are believed to live in People’s Park, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The project comes as Berkeley is set to build much-needed student housing in People’s Park that will accommodate around 1,000 students or more and is set to open in summer 2024. The Times reports that around 60 percent of the 2.8-acre park will remain green space.
