It’s not just about relocating or rebuilding. It’s all about renewal.

As a local organization committed to restoring those suffering from isolation to community integration, the Jesus Center believes that their expansion and creation of the Renewal Center represents one of the most significant opportunities that Chico has ever seen to change how we help move people from homelessness into an abundant life.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Quotes

The Renewal Project, led by the really fantastic and expert Jesus Center team, has drawn together Public Health, Ampla, and Enloe Medical Center to design services that will keep simple ailments from escalating, allow for more wholistic care, dispense medications, and even manage pain and chronic illnesses more efficiently. Enloe is pleased to be a partner in such an innovative endeavor.

—Mike Wiltermood, President/CEO, Enloe Medical Center

The Renewal Center proposed by the leadership of the Jesus Center is the right solution, the right project, led by the right people, and I stand firmly behind it and them. Consolidated services are the only solution to the challenges facing our homeless community. Medical, mental, and addict services need to be available, accessible, and easy to find. The Renewal Center ends the fragmented services model that has served Chico poorly.

—Sean Morgan, Former Mayor of Chico

I’ve been impressed with the professionalism, responsiveness and true desire to look for a big picture solution toward helping to mitigate the impacts of homelessness on both the Chico citizens/businesses and those individuals experiencing it. The collaborative spirit of the Jesus Center team is to be commended and applauded as a new paradigm in public-private partnerships is being forged.

—Mark Orme, City Manager

Like most communities, we’ve tried to provide those among us in need support and care from organizational, institutional or individual silos. We see now, the impacts of that approach are less than desirable for those we seek to support and also for our community at large. That’s exactly why we needed a thought and action leader to emerge to give us a new way of compassionately serving those in need. The North Valley Community Foundation proudly stands beside the Jesus Center and this new endeavor with hope, optimism and a willingness to get to work!

Alexa Benson-Valavanis, President & CEO, NVCF

Our Approach

Where it all started.

This effort began with the Jesus Center leadership and Board of Directors taking a step back from looking at the growing issue of homelessness solely from the perspective of their own organization. Instead, they made a concerted effort to employ a “community lens.” This required a hard look at our context including the impacts of devastating fire, pandemic, high ACEs, food insecurity AND a keen focus on the strengths and core competencies of other agencies and service providers to determine gaps in services and opportunities to collaborate for enhanced efficiencies and outcomes.

The old approaches just weren’t working well enough.

More About Our Approach Our Progress

Progress so far

Opened Spring 2021

The Jesus Center is redefining help throughout this project by:

Focusing on our strengths in sober sheltering and transitional housing.
Working strategically with our colleagues rather than duplicating their efforts.
Streamlining a path from hopelessness to full restoration.

We redefine help by starting with an expanded Sabbath House Shelter on the East side of our Fair Street campus to offer a fully developed case management program called Pathways.

We have built a trauma informed, strengths-based approach to address a wide variety of needs facing participants in crisis. Each participant will co-create their path to an abundant life taking advantage of county and private opportunities at the Jesus Center, the Renewal Center and from other providers to build their capacity and independence.

The New Jesus Center offers:

Increased sober shelter beds from 23 women to 60 men and women.
Programs and services focused on the residents in the Sabbath House shelter program
24-7 opportunities including three meals

Our Goals

What do we mean by Renewal?

Renewal in our commitment to offer paths to new life for those who are experiencing homelessness • Renewal in the spaces we serve so that the very environment we function in “speaks” caring, dignity, value and hope • Renewal in our efforts to add and improve services to help participants make clear and measurable steps towards stability and housing wherever possible • Renewal in our efforts to collaborate with other providers to ensure our services are efficient and effective in meeting the needs of our homeless neighbors in Chico. • Renewal in heart, body, mind, and relationships.

Our Goals

Renewing hope and dignity in all we serve.

Our second phase of The Renewal Center is about growth, improved solutions, integrated systems and deeper resources for those struggling with homelessness.

The Renewal Center is a creative alliance of social service providers, faith-based and nonprofit groups, and civic and business leaders united behind an integrated, community-wide response to the complexity of homelessness and the associated needs.

Our community is no longer able to approach the growing number and complexity facing our homeless neighbors the same way we did a decade ago. We are needing to study, adjust, work together and to innovate.

We redefine help as we launch a comprehensive and collaborative effort our community’s challenges in light of recent struggles and disasters.

The Renewal Center will include:

Shelter
- 14 family micro-units
- Single/double occupancy units for participants in collaborative shelter partnerships such as medical respite, recovery, Camp Fire related and justice related.
Day Services
- Focus on health, wellness, vocational development, and access to services
- County offices for access to crisis services, housing navigation, and eligibility enrollment.
- Shared space for group and individual therapies for individuals and families.
- Flexible classroom and group work space for vocational and art therapies.
- Public facing retail micro-shop for vocational output such as flowers, farm produce, kitchen products, etc.
- Kitchen and dining services
Medical and Mental Health Services
- Medical facility for primary care, low-moderate mental health, detox referrals, and outpatient drug treatment programs