October 13, 2022

On Tuesday, the City of Garden Grove and American Family Housing (AFH), a nonprofit affordable housing developer, celebrated the opening of Stuart Apartments, the City’s first permanent supportive housing development.

“Stuart Apartments represents a significant achievement to addressing homelessness in our city and upholds Garden Grove’s commitment to exploring and implementing important solutions as part of our Comprehensive Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness,” said Garden Grove Mayor Steve Jones.

In partnership with AFH, the City of Garden Grove provided the funding needed to refurbish an aging apartment building into supportive housing, serving residents with physical and mental disabilities, or experiencing homelessness. Eight of the ten refurbished units have been set aside for extremely low-income households who are exiting homelessness. These units are supported by project-based mainstream vouchers provided by the Garden Grove Housing Authority.

Updates include new open-concept kitchens in the units, added office spaces, a landscaped courtyard with a seating area, and a colorful mural which represents hope, likeness and differences, and the coming together of cultures.

“Stuart Apartments is a unique development that continues a number of current and future City efforts directed to homelessness. Understanding the critical needs of our vulnerable community and knowing AFH had the expertise to work with individuals who were homeless or in need of housing was key,” said Assistant City Manager and Community and Economic Development Director Lisa Kim.

AFH Chief Executive Officer Milo Peinemann stated the community’s design reflects AFH’s focus on addressing health through housing, where housing is seen as one of the key determinants of a person’s health.

“You can’t address what is happening inside the hospital walls for someone who is homeless if you don’t address what’s happening outside. In practice, this means helping people who are homeless get into housing, and then providing services tailored to each household’s needs. The approach of providing housing with targeted services is proven to get results and be cost-effective,” Peinemann said.

Those services include case management, counseling, employment search, life skills training, food assistance, transportation assistance, and other services.

“The needs are different for each household, and for each household, their individual needs also differ over time. The early-focus is often more on healthcare, mental health support, and nutrition. Over time, the same households might become involved in our enrichment activities, such as our children’s program summer camps, gardening activities, or employment support,” said Peinemann.

For more information, visit afhusa.org/stuart-renovation. For photos from the ribbon cutting, visit the City's Facebook @GardenGroveCityHall.