Healdsburg Center Gets $500K To Bolster Disaster Resources

HEALDSBURG, CA — The Abel De Luna Community Center in Healdsburg is one of two spaces in northern Sonoma County that received a $500,000 grant this month, officials announced.

To improve capacity for disaster recovery, the county's Board of Supervisors approved a total of $1 million in grant funding to be split between the Healdsburg space and La Familia Sana in Cloverdale.

“This is an investment in partnership and co-creation to transform these spaces into full-scale family resource and resiliency centers,” Supervisor James Gore, who represents Sonoma County’s Fourth District, wrote in a statement. “By investing in these community hubs, we raise up the good work that’s being done and ensure ongoing access to resources, while strengthening the County’s year-round disaster resiliency.”

The Abel De Luna Community Center, located at 1557 Healdsburg Ave. has been a pillar of support through recent emergency response and recovery efforts amid devastating wildfires over the past several years.

The hub also encompasses Corazón Healdsburg, the YMCA, Alliance Medical Center and Santa Rosa Junior College, as well as the Building Blocks Preschool Program. The center also serves as a location for the Redwood Empire Food Bank to operate.

The $500,000 injection of cash will be dedicated to making "critical" infrastructure upgrades, including the completion of Americans with Disabilities Act site improvements. Under that project, signs will be erected in braille and site entrances and exits will be revamped, county officials said.

“The Healdsburg Community Center has been an indispensable location during emergency response and recovery efforts,” said Jeff DuVall, director of the Department of Emergency Management. “The County’s investment in this resilience hub ensures that vital resources, services and partners can continue to serve the community in times of crisis.”