Innovative Multi-Use Building Designed by Local Architect and Supported by Davis Opportunity Village
Local Business and Community Leaders Raise Nearly $2 Million to Meet $2.5 Million Matching Investment from Sutter Health
Davis, Calif: In a celebration acknowledging years of planning, design, review and outreach, the nonprofit Davis Community Meals and Housing (DCMH) today announced the greater Davis community has raised more than $4 million of the estimated $5 million cost to replace its dilapidated building at 1111 H Street with Paul’s Place, a new innovative, multi-functional facility, designed by a local architect. Paul’s Place will provide day services, critical health and human resources, emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing to people living homeless in Davis.
DCMH, in partnership with the nonprofit Davis Opportunity Village (DOVe) and local business leaders and Campaign Co-Chairs Reed and Susan Youmans, sought contributions from members of the community, securing a $750,000 grant from Partnership HealthPlan of California (PHC), to leverage a matching investment from Sutter Health of up to $2.5 million.
“Today’s announcement is the culmination of years of work by so many in our community who want to improve both the lives of those that need it most and the quality of life for all,” said Bill Pride, Executive Director of Davis Community Meals and Housing. “Our project is a creative community-based solution to a national problem – a solution that can be replicated by others as we in Davis show this approach can work.”
Like many regions statewide, the City of Davis is faced with a challenge in how to address issues related to homelessness. According to a 2017 point-in-time count for Yolo County, there were 146 homeless individuals living in Davis. The 2019 count conducted on a single day in January, however, found 190 people living homeless in Davis, a more than 20 percent increase in two years. Considering the number of people experiencing homelessness in the course of an entire year, it is no wonder that DCMH serves 900 people annually at its current H Street Resource Center, affirming the need for a new collaborative, multi-functional facility.
“Partnership HealthPlan of California is excited to support Davis Community Meals and Housing to expand its services for Davis’ vulnerable population,” said Liz Gibboney, CEO of Partnership HealthPlan of California. “Projects like these can be transformative to a community – and that’s what it is ultimately going to take to address homelessness – community.”
Inspired by a matching grant opportunity from Sutter Health to “think big” about innovative approaches to addressing homelessness, Davis city staff brought together a wide coalition of community members including the faith community, housing advocates, law enforcement, local business and homeless service providers to collaborate on a project that could gain the community and financial support needed to secure a Sutter Health funding match. After months of meetings, several efforts were folded into what ultimately became Paul’s Place, a first-of-its kind vertical housing village that will provide services to hundreds.
“Sutter Health’s support for Paul’s Place is particularly meaningful to me, both because of what it says about our organization and because I am in this community every day and see what happens when private, public and philanthropic partners come together. Sutter Health is thrilled that the match offered through our Getting to Zero campaign encouraged such meaningful collaboration. It is what we had hoped for when we announced the Getting to Zero campaign three years ago,” said Rachael McKinney, CEO at Sutter Davis Hospital. “This investment shows what’s possible in a true culture of caring when the continuum of care extends beyond the care patients receive inside our hospital doors and truly helps improve lives throughout the region.”
The new multi-functional structure was designed by award-winning local architect Maria Ogrydziak to have:
- Beautiful outdoor space to enrich the neighborhood.
- A first floor Resource Center with enhanced program space to connect participants with public benefits, housing and employment opportunities, and health and human services — as well as basic needs for food, clothing, showers, restrooms, and laundry facilities. It also will feature, four new emergency shelter beds for law enforcement and other service providers to help people in crisis get off of the streets.
- The second floor features transitional housing that will provide 10 single residence bedrooms, a communal kitchen, family room, bathrooms and laundry.
- The third and fourth floors will have a total of 18 300-square-foot private micro-unit apartments of permanent supportive housing, two of which will be accessible for those with physical disabilities, and where all residents will have access to wraparound services to help ensure stability and independence.
“We would not have challenged ourselves to dream this big if not for the matching grant from Sutter Health,” said former Davis Mayor and Paul’s Place Committee Co-Chair Robb Davis. “Paul’s Place is an innovative vertical tiny home village that will provide not only shelter but customized wraparound supportive services to meet the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness – whether for mental health support, addiction recovery, the medically fragile, and/or other social service needs.”
Former long-time Davis Joint Unified School District Trustee and UC Davis Law Professor Emeritus, Marty West, rounds out the leadership team as co-chair with Robb Davis of the committee charged with raising the needed funds during this early stage of the campaign.
Securing the $5 million in construction funding is the first and most crucial phase of the effort to address homelessness in Davis through Paul’s Place. The community team supporting Paul’s Place is continuing to raise the final funds needed to build the project, fund the relocation of crucial programs during construction, to create a fund and endowment to maintain the building once constructed, and provide ongoing operational support for long-term sustainability.
“This is a defining moment in Davis and our mutual efforts to enhance the quality of life for all of our neighbors,” said Campaign Chair Reed Youmans. “As a business owner and long-time resident, I believe Paul’s Place is the right project at the right time. Together, we can help change the lives of those experiencing homelessness, help more people transition to stability, and improve the community for all.”
Plans for Paul’s Place must be reviewed and voted on by the Davis Planning Commission and the Davis City Council. DCMH hopes to gain the needed approvals by fall 2019.
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Davis Community Meals and Housing is a 501c3 nonprofit, non-denominational organization whose mission is to provide low-income and homeless individuals and families with housing, food, and human services to help them rebuild their lives. With a long history in Davis, Davis Community Meals and Housing is governed by a board of directors and operates programs ranging from free meals to supportive housing. For more information, please visit the Paul’s Place website at https://paulsplacedavis.org/.