Fullerton City Council voted 4-1 (Whitaker “no”) to enter into a cooperative funding agreement with local non-profit the Illumination Foundation to provide $500,000 of City funds for the development of a proposed recuperative care/navigation center in Fullerton for individuals experiencing homelessness, at their November 5 meeting.
The proposed site of the facility is 3535 West Commonwealth Ave.The Illumination Foundation has begun preparation of a conditional use permit application that will be subject to review and approval by the Planning Commission early next year.
The facility would provide recuperative care for 60 people and a navigation center for 90 people experiencing homelessness.
A recuperative care facility assists people experiencing homelessness with medical issues who are discharged from a hospital—giving them a place to recover, instead of sending them back onto the streets. The navigation facility would provide shelter and wraparound services to help folks not only recover, but to get into more stable housing.
The Illumination Foundation currently runs 6 recuperative care centers—they are the the largest provider of such services in the nation.
According to Paul Leon, CEO and founder of the Illumination Foundation, they are hoping to open the facility in January or February.
State Assembly Member Sharon Quirk-Silva spoke in favor of the project.
“We have the moral obligation in a housing and homelessness crisis, to stand up, to be bold,” Quirk-Silva said.