Redwood City, CALIF. (October 16, 2018) – Housing Industry Foundation (HIF) broke ground at the Spring Street Shelter, a program of the Mental Health Association of San Mateo (MHA), as part of the HIF Renovation Program.
HIF supports the Spring Street Shelter’s long history of developing affordable housing for individuals with mental illness in San Mateo County. Working with industry partners to donate labor and materials for full renovation of the Spring Street Shelter kitchen, HIF added much-needed plumbing, flooring, storage, appliances, counters, cabinets and paint.
“This kitchen renovation will allow us to transform an everyday homeless shelter into a shelter that helps to teach/develop independent living skills—similar to a social rehabilitation home. Our plan is to create a ‘group’ led by our occupational therapists and registered nurses to teach our clients how to incorporate healthy cooking and safety skills into their own lives. Learning these skills will support our clients with living independently amongst the community and maintaining housing,” said MHA Executive Director Melissa Patte.
Partners for this project include HIF corporate champion Windy Hill, lead contractor International Business Investment, Inc. (IBI), GreenTech Electric, Aquatek, Benchmark Environmental Engineering, ATI, Commercial Fire Protection, American Asphalt, Home Depot, Peter’s Drywall, MSI, A Touch of Stone, Maintenance Supply Headquarters and Interior Logic Group.
“Through the HIF Renovation Program we provide our generous partners an opportunity to give back to the community, and cover the cost of renovations to allow organizations like Spring Street to focus its resources on its clients to give their clients a better quality of life,” said HIF Executive Director Robert Freiri.
A ribbon cutting to celebrate the renovated home’s opening will be held on November 1, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. Parties interested in attending the ceremony may contact steve@hifinfo.org.
About the Housing Industry Foundation: HIF works to prevent homelessness for individuals and families, and assists with special housing projects or renovations in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. HIF supports efforts to identify long-term solutions to the lack of affordable housing, and carries out its mission through its Emergency Housing Fund and the Renovation Program.
About Spring Street Shelter: Since 1986, Mental Health Association has constructed emergency, transitional and permanent housing sites for individuals with serious mental illness to provide the appropriate type of housing and level of support to meet their needs. Spring Street Shelter has been in continuous operation since April 1986.
Media Contacts:
HIF: Kriselle Laran; kriselle@krisellelaran.com
Mental Health Association of San Mateo County: Melissa Platte; melissap@mhasmc.org
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