HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Members of the Guam National Guard working to renovate an apartment facility in Anigua to serve as a homeless shelter resumed work this week after lending a hand with post-typhoon recovery.
The 18-unit facility was acquired to serve as a permanent facility for homeless resource services. Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio, who chairs the Interagency Council for Coordinating Homelessness Programs, said it will be used mainly for transitional housing.
Robert San Agustin, the director of the Office of Homelessness Assistance and Poverty Prevention, said there was no typhoon damage to the building.
San Agustin estimated in March that the shelter could open within six months, rather than an earlier estimate of 10 months.
Guam Guard members returned to work at the shelter site Tuesday, according to Guard spokesperson Capt. Mark Scott.
Members were cutting or laying down tiles, measuring and mounting wall areas, and conducting other renovation work.
Guam is in need of additional shelter capacity.
That issue was a concern when plans were underway to proceed with the Homeless Relocation Initiative, a joint effort between the Office of the Attorney General and other government agencies.
Samantha Taitano, chair of the Guam Homeless Coalition, noted that shelters on Guam tend to remain full.
The Anigua apartment units, shown Thursday, June 22, 2023, are being renovated so the facility can serve as a homeless shelter.
Guam National Guard Spc. Gage Quitugua measures a panel of concrete wall to set up against a portion of a door frame. Quitugua and other Guard members were continuing renovation work Thursday, June 22, 2023, at a building set to become a homeless shelter in Anigua.
