Catholic Charities to temporarily move Santa Rosa homeless center to clear way for new drop-in site

Santa Rosa nonprofit Catholic Charities will temporarily relocate its main homeless services center to a nearby location in the west end neighborhood of the city to clear the way for construction of a new drop-in site set to open early next summer.

Catholic Charities’ current center is at 600 Morgan Street near downtown. By Sept. 15, the nonprofit plans to move its operation to 610 Wilson St., the site of a former drop-in site run by Saint Vincent de Paul.

Jennielynn Holmes, head of homeless services for Catholic Charities, said staff has begun informing the roughly 2,000 unhoused people who visit the drop-in site about the move.

Catholic Charities also is going door-to-door to reach out to residents in the west end neighborhood to tell them about the temporary site. A virtual meeting for neighbors to learn about the center is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The new 6,000-square-foot drop-in center at Morgan Street, part of the under-construction Caritas Project, will replace Catholic Charities current site in an aging two-bedroom home. It will be a place for homeless people to shower, do laundry and pick up mail, as well as provide an access point for other services and shelter sites.

In addition to the service center, the Caritas Project will include 128 units of affordable housing developed by nonprofit North Bay developer Burbank Housing. The housing portion of the development is set to be completed by early 2023.

To join the virtual neighborhood meeting, visit https://tinyurl.com/8ubzuf9c.

You can reach Staff Writer Ethan Varian at ethan.varian@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5412. On Twitter @ethanvaria