90-unit apartment complex welcomes formerly homeless families and individuals

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) Moon Gate Plaza hosted their grand opening on Monday, welcoming former homeless individuals' families who will finally have a place to live in Salinas.

The City of Salinas partnered with MidPen Housing to provide 90 brand-new apartment homes for low and extremely low-income households. Twenty of those units are designated for homeless individuals who have a disability or chronic health conditions, along with another 20 units for individuals with mental illness.

The apartment complex also has free services along with commercial space that is designated for the City of Salinas, Asian Cultural Experience and Urban Arts Collaborative to provide health, wellness and education services, along with arts and other cultural programming.

“I want people to understand that Salinas is a destination, that Salinas isn't someplace where lost souls just go out to lay around and they're not presented as people or human beings," said Sarah who was homeless and now lives at the Moon Gate Plaza. "I think this whole movement is showing a whole new way of living and setting a tone for an entire community that’s full of people and companies to be reckoned with.”

Construction of Moon Gate Plaza was completed in late 2019, welcoming residents in January 2020.