A ribbon cutting will be held next week for a low-barrier emergency shelter in Harrisonburg.
The open house for the Harrisonburg Navigation Center will be held on Dec. 18 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the center located at 1111 N. Main St. in Harrisonburg.
Attendees will hear from officials with the City of Harrisonburg and Open Doors about the importance of the Navigation Center and have an opportunity to tour portions of the center. The new facility will house an overnight shelter and a daytime drop-in center for adults experiencing homelessness and other hardships.
“After a long journey of construction, we are thrilled to finally reach this moment,” said Amy Snider, Harrisonburg Deputy City Manager and the Navigation Center project manager. “The Navigation Center represents more than walls and roofs – it symbolizes compassion, support and a new beginning for those in need.”
The city had hoped to open the shelter in time for the cold-weather season, but construction delays pushed the opening date back. A temporary emergency shelter instead opened on Nov. 30 at the former location of the Virginia Quilt Museum.
Final additions to the center are still taking place with a possible start date of Dec. 23 for sheltering services.
Daytime drop-in services will likely begin in January with a definitive date to be announced in the near future.
The shelter will be open every day from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. and will contain space for up to 80 congregant beds and four universal rooms with other support facilities including showers and a laundry room.
The drop-in center will be Monday to Friday, except for major holidays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Open Doors was selected as the operator of the new Harrisonburg Navigation Center. The nonprofit will receive $100,000 annually from the city to support operation expenses as part of a three-year contract. The city will also pay for utilities and maintenance of the building and its fixtures, such as the kitchen and laundry equipment.
“We are excited to expand our life-saving shelter program, as the Navigation Center will bring a new level of stability and ability to serve the unhoused,” said Nate Riddle, Open Doors executive director. “The addition of the daytime drop-in center will allow us to extend our life-changing mission through resource navigation available to all in our community.”
Open Doors will partner with other local agencies including Sentara RMH, the Suitcase Clinic for the Homeless, Strength in Peers, Mercy House, First Step and the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Community Services Board to provide on-site services.
An existing building on the 3.68-acre property, formerly the Shenandoah Presbytery, was preserved and renovated to provide space for administrative offices and a clinic with exam space for routine healthcare for the unhoused.
The project is supported in part by $5 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, approved by City Council in November 2021.
“This center is something I and many in our community have been dreaming about for many years, so to see it come to fruition thanks to the hard work of so many in Harrisonburg is truly a blessing,” said Deanna Reed, Harrisonburg Mayor. “If we are to become a city for all, where all people feel safe, valued and have abundant opportunity, that means no one can be left behind. And the Navigation Center will make sure those who need that extra support receive it and have that opportunity.”
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Crystal Graham
