HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The acquisition of a new homeless shelter in Tamuning has begun and is anticipated to conclude by November, Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority Director Elizabeth Napoli said Thursday during a virtual meeting of the Guam Homeless Coalition and the Office Of Homelessness and Poverty Prevention, or OHAPP.
Building 198 off Iriarte Street in Tamuning is a property intended to be a place for homeless individuals to get off the streets.
“They gave us (until) October. But just to provide cushion because of all the pending items that need to come in before it closes, we are hoping to close by November. Then, after the acquisition is closed, … we will be working on the rehabilitation of the building,” Napoli said.
Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio said the Tamuning shelter is an effort to help the ”unsheltered” in the central area.
“Of course, there are many unsheltered people that are living throughout or at least sleeping throughout (the) Tamuning and Tumon area bordering into Harmon and Agana and the concept here is to provide a bed for the night, an opportunity for intervention, especially for health, behavioral health, and try to get people some stabilization,” Tenorio said.
A place to call home for the night, he said, the Tamuning shelter is meant to provide safety and get homeless individuals help.
“I know that I have gotten phone calls from business owners that are concerned about folks that are sleeping in the hallways in front of their offices. I know that they have been there in the former Hafa Adai Exchange. … So this is a place that is intended to be this place for people to be able (to) get that bed for the night,” Tenorio continued.
The lieutenant governor said the plan is to have OHAPP run the facility.
The Tamuning shelter will complement the Anigua shelter for homeless in the central area.
“What we are looking at again for the public is the apartment building we acquired in Anigua is meant for transition housing for families and individuals that are already now stabilized and are actually backing up some of the shelters that are funded by numerous agencies out there. This additional shelter will be a place for the population to be able to identify people that are unsheltered, really, and for the mayors to have a place to refer people,” Tenorio explained.
Guam Homeless Coalition and OHAPP Director Rob San Augustin said “Anigua Apartments renovations continue on. Some of the rains this past week have slowed the painting and outside things that need to be done, but the inside renovations continue, and they’ve been moving along smoothly.”
San Agustin estimated in March that the shelter could open within six months, rather than an earlier estimate of 10 months, according to Post files.
Building 198 off Iriarte Street is seen Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, in Tamuning.
