 Over the last several years GRIP has embarked on an ambitious expansion program in order to enhance the efficiency, coordination, and effectiveness of our services, with the goal of bringing all of its programs into a single, modern facility that will be operated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Until recently GRIP’s programs were operated in scattered, often borrowed facilities throughout the greater Richmond area, which inhibited a coordinated comprehensive delivery system, forced clients and staff to waste significant time in transit, made coordination between programs difficult, and reinforced a sense of dislocation in our client base. Without a stable base of operations for our programs and clients, GRIP could not provide the comprehensive, integrated support our clients need as they work to stabilize their lives and move towards self-sufficiency.
After five years of planning and fundraising, including extensive meetings with internal stakeholders, government agencies, and community groups, in Summer 2006 GRIP completed construction on its new, $3.5 million integrated services center – the new GRIP “Souper Center” Family Housing and Supportive Services Center. This 2-story, 12,000 square-foot building includes 75 beds of emergency shelter and transitional housing for homeless families, a new kitchen facility and dining room, on-site offices for the West County Resource Center, and consolidated office space for GRIP staff. The new Family Housing and Supportive Services Center finally provides a first-class facility for GRIP’s clients, staff, and volunteers, and creates a central place where families can both sleep overnight and obtain on-site, comprehensive assistance to stabilize their lives through long-term housing and jobs – in essence, a family resource center focused on ending homelessness.
The new facility will serve over 2,000 homeless clients per year through its various programs, including housing approximately 45 families or 187 homeless individuals per year, and serving over 100,000 meals per year in the new, expanded soup kitchen.
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