Services For The Unhoused (Homeless) In The City of Manteca Remains A Top Priority For City Officials
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The City of Manteca has developed a comprehensive approach to assisting the unhoused (homeless) that addresses the need for housing, health care, mental health challenges, substance abuse, and more.
MANTECA, CALIF — Assisting the unhoused (homeless) in Manteca is a societal issue driven by such dynamics as lack of affordable housing, mental illness, and substance abuse, among others. In recent years, the number of unsheltered or unhoused individuals has increased, not just in Manteca, but throughout the state of California. “Reducing and assisting the unhoused continues to be a top priority for the Manteca City Council and City staff,” says City Manager Toni Lundgren.
The City offers a host of services intended to assist the unhoused.
For example, the City’s Homeless Emergency Center is operated by His Way Refuge Center (“His Way”) at 555 Industrial Park. His Way’s mission is to provide a clean, stable, and supportive environment so that the residents can begin to fine-tune their lives.
Additionally, His Way operates 11 homes in Manteca and plans to open several more in the future through His Way Recovery House, Inc. These homes are operated by onsite volunteers who assist guests in maintaining a home, free from drugs or alcohol.
Further, Manteca is changing the municipal codes to allow new classifications of housing in the downtown area. The current downtown zoning designations of CBD-1 and CBD-2, for example, allow for multi-family dwelling units and live-work developments. CBD-2 also allows for residential care homes, supportive housing, and transitional housing.
This will change with the updated General Plan. All properties currently zoned CBD-1 and CBD-2 will be given the Downtown land use designation, which will allow for multi-family housing; it will also create a Downtown zoning district, which will allow for multi-family and multi-family mixed-use projects of all affordability levels.
The City has obtained approximately $20 million in funding to develop an unhoused navigation center and housing on a parcel in downtown Manteca.
City staff, with the support of Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman, successfully applied for, and secured, a $16 million grant from the State of California to address challenges being faced by the unhoused. The team applied for and was granted, additional funding of $2 million from the County and the remainder comes from federal HUD Community Block Development Grant funding or CBDG.
The Homeless Navigation Center was created to help the unhoused exit homelessness by providing various services including, but not limited to, coordinated mental health services, drug rehabilitation, temporary shelter, intensive case management, housing navigation, employment services, meals, medical care, showers, and laundry facilities.
Beyond these services, Lundgren points out that the City is working with Vanir Construction, which is doing a progressive design-build for the new Homeless Navigation Center. Design-build is a method of project delivery in which one entity—the design-build team—works under a single contract with the project owner to provide design and construction services.
“This means one entity, one contract, one unified flow of work from initial concept through completion,” Lundgren points out. Founded in 1964, Vanir is now a national leader in program, project, and construction management and real estate development.
Manteca has also contracted with Mercy House, which is well known for comprehensive supportive services for a variety of unhoused populations. As stated on its website, “Our goal is simple, it is to end the cycle of the unhoused for those who enter our system of care.”.
Lundgren also points out that the City is partnering with Golden Valley Health Centers to provide healthcare for the unhoused. As a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), Golden Valley follows Federal and State regulations regarding the type and quality of health services provided to anyone, regardless of their ability to pay, including free care.
According to their website, “Golden Valley Health Centers serve all races, ages, and all walks of life. Our staff and providers are as diverse as the patients we serve—many are bilingual and residents of the community.”
The Manteca Police Department has been responsive to concerns related to the unhoused and continues to actively monitor incidents while respecting the rights of unhoused individuals and ensuring public safety, Mayor-at-Large Gary Singh stresses.
The Management Analyst in the Housing and Homeless Division for the City is Vielka Guarascio. “If you are living unhoused or at risk of becoming unhoused, call us at (209) 456-8556; we can assist in connecting you with accessible resources and supportive services,” says Guarascio.
For more information on Housing and Homeless Services, please email homelessdivision@manteca.gov or call (209) 456-8556.
Additional information is at the Manteca City website: https://www.manteca.gov.
Manteca is a full-service City with its police, fire, public works, water, trash, and sewer services. For more information call the City Manager’s office at (209) 456-8000, email Feedback@manteca.gov, or go online to https://www.manteca.gov.
Incorporated in 1918, Manteca has a diverse population of 86,928. Manteca continues to grow at 4.1 percent a year. The City has 25,670 households with a median home price of $432,100. The median annual household income is $82,538.