STEVE JONES, Garden Grove Mayor (Tribune photo).

By Jim Tortolano/Orange County Tribune

More details on the proposed navigation c enter for the homeless  emerged at a community meeting Tuesday in Garden Grove.

With Yvette Ahlstrom, housing director for Homeaid Orange County, serving as master of ceremonies, public officials from the three cities which will share the facility – Garden Grove, Fountain Valley and Westminster – commented on the project.

Afterwards, questions were taken from the full-house crowd in a room at the Community Meeting Center.

“This is a very big deal to the city, and other cities,” said Garden Grove Mayor Steve Jones. “We’re super-excited to be moving forward. We’ve actually had a couple of false starts … we finally got one site that will work.” He added, “We think this is a big need, as homelessness has become so prevalent. This is a way for us to offer help to those who will accept it and to continue to implement the strategic plan we have to end homelessness in Garden Grove.”

The proposed Central Cities Navigation Center would be located on a 0.41-acre site at 13871 West St. in an industrial center northwest of Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue in Garden Grove.

Among the specifics of the proposal are:

• it would serve 80 to 100 people at a time
• existing couples would have their own areas
• only adults will be accommodated
• an area for pets belonging to the homeless clients would be created and maintained
• the center would be by referral only, typically from a police officer, homeless outreach or mental health worker
• transportation into and out of the center would be by a navigation center vehicle; no walk-ins or walk-outs would be permitted
• the maximum stay at the center is six months.

The function of the “navigation” center is not only to provide shelter for homeless people, but also to help them “navigate” a path towards having a home by providing referrals for health care, housing, mental health and substance abuse recovery resources as well as employment and “life skill” classes.

Operation of the center will be by a service provider to be determined.

For more information about the center – which is funded jointly by the three cities – go to https://ggcity.org/navigation-center .