Tenderloin YMCA Being Rebuilt To House Chronically Homeless
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee showed off some of the good work emerging from the stimulus on Friday.
When construction finishes, the ornate YMCA building in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood built in 1910 will have 174 supportive housing units and a wellness clinic to serve the chronically homeless.
"This is the core of the answer to ending homelessness - is to build these kinds of housing and make sure we've got the services to attach with it," Lee said.
KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:
The non-profit Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation won a $54 million grant under the Recovery Act for a retrofit that has kept dozens off unemployment. Director Donald Falk said the building would likely still be vacant without the stimulus money.
Pelosi noted the symmetry in transforming a faith-based recreation center into a homeless sanctuary.
"It's not only housing, which is significant. It is housing which respects the dignity of every person," Pelosi said.
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