New Apartments in Grand Junction Aim to End Youth Homelessness
New apartments are currently being built off of North 12th Street in Grand Junction. These apartments will be open to homeless youth ages 18-24.
I spoke with the Executive Director of The House, who are currently building apartments off of North 12th Street in Grand Junction. According to John Mok-Lamme, the apartments will be on the same lot as Unity Church but will be a separate entity.
The apartment complex will include 34 one-bedroom apartments, with lots of common spaces and outdoor spaces. The spaces include play areas, patio area, dog area and areas to meditate.
The apartments will be the company's sixth housing project and combined with their drop-in center in downtown Grand Junction, makes it their seventh facility.
According to their website, this is The House's mission:
263: The number of homeless youth in Mesa County in 2018. That's 263 teens too many. We want to end youth homelessness. That's our mission. That's our passion.
These Apartments will be open to people ages 18-24. The House is currently identifying possible tenants now. John says that this program/apartment complex is for youth that is at risk of being homeless for a long time.
The House has partnered with Mind Springs and Rocky Mountain Health Plans to provide on-site mental health services. The companies have committed to working with The House for the next twenty years. Some of the services include therapy, education groups, teaching life skills including job preparation.
According to the Executive Director of The House, John Mok-Lamme, he expects construction to take about ten months. They're shooting to be ready for tenants in September 2020.