Visalia decides how to allocate homeless funds

VISALIA, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – The City of Visalia announced Monday they have already decided where to allocate the funds they received on Friday to combat homelessness.

Governor Gavin Newsom granted 18 cities, $131 million to help combat their homeless crisis and Visalia was among those cities.

The grant comes from the state’s $1 billion encampment resolution funds.

Mayor Brian Poochigian says they plan to split the grant. $1.5 million will be given to the Visalia Navigation Center and another $1.5 million will be handed to an up-and-coming supportive housing project.

“Every time we spend money, we want to see results for our money,” said Visalia Mayor Brian Poochigian.

The grant comes at a perfect time for the Visalia Navigation Center, which held its ribbon-cutting ceremony last week .

“It was just great to hear the news of the ongoing funds as we work towards opening and bringing our guests in and then being a nonprofit and an operation that’s always moving, we’re always looking for donations,” said Jeff Forbes, CSET’S director of communication and information systems.

The “low-barrier” homeless and resource center can house up to 100 residents, of all ages. Some can even stay up to six months at a time.

“It’s not just a shelter but we’re providing three meals a day, we’re going to have partner organizations who are here housed with us, providing services like mental health and job training, access to, you know, temporary and permanent housing,” said Forbes.

The other half of the grant goes to the Majestic, a new project through RHCB Development, which consists of 41 permanent housing units.

“There’s all these tools that we could use to try to get people off the street,” said Poochigian.

A study in 2023 found nearly 500 individuals were experiencing homelessness in the City of Visalia.

“It has grown, and I think we see that as we’re out and about,” Forbes said.

Back in August, the city updated its camping ordinance, prohibiting overnight encampments in public parks. First-time violators will face a $100 fine.

“We’re giving our police officers also tools to work down with our homeless population,” said Poochigian.

In the coming weeks, the Navigation Center will officially open its doors and start housing individuals.

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