The Gospel Center Rescue Mission unveiled a new facility aimed to support addiction recovery and recuperative care for unhoused community members in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday in downtown Stockton.
The New Life Program Multi-Purpose Center is a three-story, 110-bed facility including dorm rooms with one to four beds each, shower rooms, laundry facilities and a classroom area. There is also a dedicated space for the GCRM Recuperative Care Program, which provides short-term housing and support for individuals recovering from medical issues or hospital stays.
The residential addiction treatment initiative offered by GCRM consists of a first and second phase, each lasting six months in a residential setting, followed by a one-year third phase focused on bridge housing to help participants transition back into stable community living, according to the press release.
“Above all, we give thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ, whose provision and guidance made this work possible,” CEO of the Gospel Center Rescue Mission, David L. Midura said in the press release. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who contributed through their prayers, generosity, and support.”
Funding for the center came from multiple sources including the Health Plan of San Joaquin partnered with the mission for $6.5 million to bolster support for those with significant recuperative care requirements. San Joaquin County contributed a total of $3.5 million, with additional backing from the Federal Home Loan Bank, the City of Stockton and other donors.
“It is an investment in people and it reflects smart governance,” San Joaquin County Supervisor Paul Canepa said in the press release. “When we help people stabilize their lives, we reduce the long-term costs of homelessness on healthcare, law enforcement and the justice system. This is how we create safer neighborhoods and stronger communities.”
Lindsey Pierzina, director of men’s new life program, shared her experience in going through the Gospel Center Rescue Mission.
“I was fighting to get my daughter back from CPS, and if I’m being honest I did not want to come here,” Pierzina said. “They gave me structure. They gave me accountability. They gave me truth, but more than anything else, they loved me when I didn’t think I deserved it, and that love changed me. Today, I stand before you, as the director of the men’s new life program, with a new life.”
Pierzina said 24 men are scheduled to move into the second floor of the facility on Monday to begin their first phase of the addiction treatment initiative.
Nearly a dozen men are living on the first floor in recuperative care.
