West Berkeley Horizon Transitional Village to stay open until Jan. 1

BERKELEY, CA — The West Berkeley Horizon Transitional Village will stay open through December, despite plans for redevelopment of the building, according to an article published by the East Bay Times.

The 24-hour homeless shelter at 742 Grayson Street opened in a “converted West Berkeley warehouse” to get more people off the streets “during the pandemic” was never supposed to be a permanent solution since the site was slated for redevelopment, Katie Lauer reported in her Sept. 29 article, “West Berkeley interim homeless shelter will remain open through December.”

Plans were in place to relocate the shelter’s 50 beds and 40 safe RV parking spaces before October, but they are now on hold until the end of the year as the city searches for a new location to continue the interim services offered at the shelter which was opened by the Dorothy Day House in July 2021, Lauer reported.

“Residents currently on-site can now stay until Dec. 31, unless they decide to leave sooner,” Lauer wrote.

The shelter, which allows pets, stays open 24 hours a day, permits safe drug use and offers recovery resources does not enforce curfews and has set up rows of tents within the 45,000 square foot warehouse to allow for more privacy.

The property is “slated to become the site of a life sciences building,” the East Bay Times reported.

According to the article, voters approved Measure P in 2018, which increased property taxes to help support homeless support services. More than $1 million will be allocated annually from the city’s budget through July 2024 for the Grayson shelter, including $79,137 allocated by Berkeley City Council last week to cover the costs of rent and waste services for the time the shelter remains open.

Owners of the shelter have agreed to terminate the lease early and refund advance rent payments, “if shelter staff ultimately vacate before the end of the year,” East Bay Times reported.

Read More at East Bay Times.