Monterey’s first homeless shelter for women and families is ready to welcome guests.

Just a week before the first guests step over the threshold, crews are busy putting the finishing touches on the Shuman HeartHouse, Monterey’s first shelter for women and families experiencing homelessness. The kitchen is being assembled on Monday, Oct. 30, and lights installed in the computer room. The rooms for single women are almost ready, each with a bed, nightstand, basket of toiletries and a cheerful, handmade quilt by members of the Monterey Peninsula Quilters Guild.

The shelter, owned and operated by nonprofit Community Human Services, will hold up to 35 people at a time – 16 single women and four families. As much as that’s good news for those guests, the sobering news is that as of Oct. 30, there are 145 families and 67 women on the waiting list.

Guests will be able to stay for up to 90 days, possibly more depending on circumstances like if they are actively searching for permanent housing, says Evangelina Ochoa, CHS senior program officer for homeless services. Case workers will meet with guests to assist with job and housing searches and connecting to services.

The grand opening of the shelter marks the culmination of four years of work by Mark Shuman and his family and CHS. Standing in what will be the dining room as workers buzz about, Shuman says he searched for two years looking for just the right spot. It had to be within the city’s shelter zoning overlay and it had to have water credits. In 2021 the historic Union Ice Factory building on Franklin Street, at the time serving as a dance studio, became available and ticked all the boxes. The Shumans donated $3 million to CHS for the purchase.

“This has been a dream for such a long time. For it to come to fruition and to see it, it has exceeded my expectations,” Shuman says. “My heart is full of love and gratitude [to everyone who made the shelter a reality].”

The Shumans’ $3 million – plus contributions from the state, County of Monterey, cities of Monterey and Pacific Grove, and donations from individuals, foundations and other organizations – brought the total raised to $7.8 million to launch and cover two years of operating expenses, according to CHS CEO Robin McCrae. The fundraising continues for operating expenses. In addition to money, groups like the quilters, Junior League, churches and others donated time and materials, including Sudz Cyber Laundry in Pacific Grove, which washed 300 pounds of new linens.

Much of the character of the 1930 Spanish-style building has been maintained, like the arched windows and wood beams in the dining room. Mirrors from the building’s last life as a dance studio were repurposed. One wing of the building contains 16 small bedrooms for single women, a large bathroom and lockers. Another wing has four large bedrooms for the families and bathrooms. A separate building on the property will be home to an activity room, computer room and office.

The property also has a large parking lot, and McCrae says micro homes and pet kennels “are on the table… it’s quite a bit of land, so we’ll be dreaming.”

SHUMAN HEARTHOUSE open house and ribbon cutting takes place 2-4pm, Saturday, Nov. 4. 600 E. Franklin St., Monterey. Free. 658-3811, chservices.org.