Stanislaus County homeless shelter to stay open, but funding challenges continue
Stanislaus County once again extended a termination date for the low-barrier homeless shelter as funding sources are sought to sustain the 182-bed facility.
The county General Services Agency said in a May 26 letter to The Salvation Army that it is extending the lease agreement to Sept. 30 for the shelter at Ninth and D streets in Modesto.
“This extension will allow additional time for both the county and Salvation Army to continue productive discussions and explore a longer-term arrangement that aligns with the county’s available resources and ongoing efforts to support a sustainable operational model,” the letter said.
The county notified The Salvation Army in September 2025 about the need to terminate the agreement in 180 days if major funding issues were not resolved. A funding gap appeared when the state did not include Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) funds in its 2025-26 budget.
What’s called the Access Center and Emergency Shelter (ACES) has been supported by a patchwork of funding since it opened in 2019.
County staff members explored other funding pots that remained available for ACES. By late January, the county and city of Modesto were confident about covering shelter’s expenses through June 30.
Last week, county supervisors approved an amendment to the agreement with The Salvation Army, which operates the shelter, to extend operations through September.
Recently, Modesto found that $486,000 in Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) program funds could help sustain the shelter for three more months after June 30. The county’s Community Services Agency will cover the costs of security, food and the facility lease, an amount not to exceed $291,000.
About $18.1 million in different types of funding has supported ACES since 2019. The recent action to cover the funding gap has not affected the county general fund. The county continues to work with the city and The Salvation Army to keep the facility open.
Though the state temporarily halted HHAP funding and established performance measures for counties to receive it going forward, the county has been able to use allocations from previous rounds. Stanislaus received a $930,000 disbursement in February, which was given to ACES.
The shelter was awarded $600,000 in HHAP funds in September. Almost $690,000 from the county PLHA allocation has supported the shelter, and an additional $628,000 in PLHA funds has helped to cover operating costs.
The annual cost of operating the shelter is projected at $2.88 million. A county staff report last week listed six sources of funding for ACES.
