Garden Grove officials and state Sen. Tom Umberg gathered Tuesday to celebrate the summer opening of the Central Cities Navigation Center, a transitional shelter that can accommodate up to 85 adults experiencing homelessness in Garden Grove, Westminster and Fountain Valley.
The shelter opened in mid-June and currently has 76 occupants receiving one-on-one case management with mental health, outpatient health, education, employment assistance and job training services available, officials said.
1 of 4
Clients can stay for up to 120 days, or longer if they demonstrate they are working toward their goals, which could include securing employment, searching for permanent housing or working toward collecting benefits, program manager Daniel Torres said.
Umberg’s office helped direct $4 million in state funds to Garden Grove to support the shelter’s operations costs. Fountain Valley and Westminster have also contributed to the shelter’s purchase or operations costs, and the county of Orange provided another $5.3 million for construction and committed another $6.2 million to fund operations for 10 years, according to a memorandum of understanding.
“This funding is especially meaningful to me because it supports my vision of creating a more supportive community, particularly for our underserved and most vulnerable constituents,” said Garden Grove Councilmember Kim Nguyen-Penaloza, who represents the 6th District where the shelter is located.
“This funding is more than just a check,” she said. “It’s a testament to the power of collaboration and the shared commitment toward a common goal.”
Garden Grove was the only city in central Orange County where the surveyed unsheltered population dropped between the county’s 2022 and 2024 point-in-time counts.
Kim credits that improvement to the city’s implementation of its five-year strategic roadmap to address homelessness.
“We lead by compassion, first,” she said. “And that’s why we have a multitude of touchpoints for individuals experiencing homelessness.”
On a case-by-case basis, Garden Grove’s multi-tiered plan to address homelessness begins with staffing crisis management teams, officials said, continues with helping individuals navigate resources to find stability and find temporary housing and aspirationally ends with providing assistance that helps individuals find permanent housing.
