Riverside receives $10 million grant to house people living with HIV facing homelessness
The city of Riverside received a $10 million grant to help provide housing and support services to Inland Valley residents living with HIV who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, officials announced today.
The funds will go toward the construction of a 49-bed housing facility that will provide health care, job training and housing for LGBTQ youth and seniors and people living with HIV, Phil Pitchford, a spokesman for the city, said in a news release.
The facility, called Project Legacy, will be built by non-profit TruEvolution in downtown Riverside on property bounded roughly by University Avenue, Brockton Avenue and Ninth Street.
TruEvolution is headquartered in Riverside and provides housing, health, counseling and other services to LGBTQ people across the area. It will relocate its offices to the new facility once it is constructed.
The project held a groundbreaking on Oct. 19 and construction is scheduled to begin this month, with residents expected to move in by fall 2022.
"Project Legacy provides a caring and compassionate home for people in our community," Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said. "We are grateful as a city to be able to assist TruEvolution in obtaining state funding
for this project."
Five of the properties at the project site are single-family residences and will be renovated and used as permanent supportive housing for 48 residents and one housing manager, according to Pitchford.
Additionally, a commercial building on the lot will become an on-site community health and
justice center.
"Providing holistic support to LGBTQ people experiencing homelessness is the best way to end cycles of homelessness for this vulnerable population. Project Legacy is a smart and strategic solution," Riverside City Council member Erin Edwards said. Edwards represents the area where the project is being built.
"I am proud to see this vital effort coming to fruition in downtown Riverside," Edwards added.
