City of Riverside Receives $10 Million State Grant to Assist with Project Legacy
Published: 11/10/2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 10, 2021
Contact:
Phil Pitchford
Public Information Officer
951-826-5975
City of Riverside Receives $10 Million State Grant to Assist with Project Legacy
The 49-unit project by non-profit TruEvolution will help people living with HIV
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The City of Riverside was awarded a $10 million grant from the State of California to assist the non-profit TruEvolution in the development of Project Legacy, which will provide housing and support services for people with HIV who might otherwise be homeless.
The funding, which was obtained via the efforts of Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes and Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes, will help pay for the construction of a 49-bed campus that will provide healthcare, job training, and housing for LGBTQ+ youth and seniors and people living with HIV.
“Project Legacy provides a caring and compassionate home for people in our community,” Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said. “We are grateful as a City to be able to assist TruEvolution in obtaining state funding for this project. Thank you Assemblymember Cervantes and Majority Leader Gómez Reyes for guiding this grant funding to approval.”
TruEvolution, which is headquartered in Riverside, provides housing, health, counseling and other services to LGBTQ+ people across Inland Southern California. It is undertaking Project Legacy in downtown Riverside on property bounded roughly by University Avenue, Brockton Avenue and 9th Street.
“This project will be a major milestone for TruEvolution,” said founder and CEO Gabriel Maldonado, who has worked for the past 14 years to develop comprehensive HIV prevention and care services, a mental health clinic, and an emergency supportive housing program. “We look forward to working closely with the City of Riverside to develop Project Legacy using the crucial funding obtained by Assemblymember Cervantes and Majority Leader Gómez Reyes.”
Five of the properties are single-family residences and will be renovated and used as permanent supportive housing for 48 residents and one housing manager. A commercial building on the site will become an on-site community Health and Justice Center, including TruEvolution’s offices.
The project held a groundbreaking on Oct. 19, and construction is scheduled to begin this month. Residents are expected to move in in Fall 2022.
“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” said Councilmember Erin Edwards, who represents the area where the project is being built. “I am proud to see this vital effort coming to fruition in downtown Riverside.”
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