Project Pipeline

SHARE Center Reconfiguration Project

Learn more about the reconfiguration project at the upcoming community meeting.

The County of Monterey invites community members and interested individuals to attend a public community meeting to learn about and discuss the upcoming changes to the SHARE Center. The SHARE Center Reconfiguration Project aims to better meet the needs of the diverse population it serves, including creating improved family-centered spaces and establishing a dedicated recuperative care area. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about the project, ask questions, and share their feedback.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Monterey County Health Department, Whitney Room, located at 1270 Natividad Road in Salinas.

Click Here to Register!

Improving Privacy, Dignity and Care at the SHARE Center

The County of Monterey is planning a major reconfiguration of the SHARE Center, a low-barrier navigation center located at 845 E. Laurel Drive in Salinas.

Since opening, the SHARE Center has provided temporary shelter, case management and supportive services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness. As the needs of the people served at the SHARE Center have evolved, the County has identified opportunities to improve the physical environment and provide more appropriate spaces for families, individuals and people recovering from a health-related crisis.

The proposed project has two major components:

• Moving families with children from the existing congregate sleeping area into private, non-congregate sleeping cabins; and
• Creating a dedicated 30-bed Recuperative Care program within the existing SHARE Center building.

The project will not increase the SHARE Center's maximum capacity of 128 beds. Instead, the existing site will be redesigned to provide greater privacy, reduce disruptions within shared sleeping areas, and better match the environment and services to the needs of the people staying there.

Why Is the SHARE Center Being Reconfigured?

The SHARE Center currently serves a diverse population with a wide range of needs. In 2025, nearly one-third of participants reported a chronic health condition, approximately one-quarter reported a physical disability, and nearly one-third reported a behavioral health disorder.

The existing 16,000-square-foot facility includes communal sleeping areas, showers and restrooms, case management offices, a commercial kitchen, dining areas, laundry facilities, a children's playroom and other shared amenities. Approximately half of the Center's current capacity is dedicated to families with children.

Through its experience operating the SHARE Center, the County and its partners have identified several opportunities to improve the facility.

Families currently sleep within the main congregate shelter environment, and most family sleeping spaces do not have doors.

The reconfiguration will move families into private sleeping cabins located on the SHARE Center property. These non-congregate units will provide families with greater privacy and separation from the adult congregate shelter environment while allowing them to remain connected to case management, meals, housing navigation and other SHARE Center services.

Creating a more family-centered environment is intended to make the shelter experience safer, quieter and more supportive for parents and children.

The existing dormitory has open ceilings, which allows noise to travel throughout the sleeping area and can make it difficult for both adults and families to rest.

Moving families into private cabins will reduce the number of people sleeping in the main building and allow the County to redesign the remaining interior space around the needs of adults using the shelter and participants enrolled in Recuperative Care.

Bringing Recuperative Care to the SHARE Center

Another major component of the project is the creation of a dedicated 30-bed Recuperative Care program within the existing SHARE Center.

People experiencing homelessness are sometimes discharged from hospitals or emergency departments even though they still need time and a safe environment to recover. Without stable shelter, something as simple as resting after surgery, keeping a wound clean, storing medication or attending follow-up appointments can become extremely difficult.

The SHARE Center reconfiguration is intended to help address that gap by creating a dedicated place where eligible participants can safely recover while also receiving assistance with resolving their homelessness and other supportive services.

Recuperative Care, sometimes called medical respite, is short-term housing and supportive care for people experiencing homelessness or housing instability who are recovering from an illness, injury, hospitalization, emergency department visit or other medical crisis.

Participants no longer require hospital-level care and must be medically stable and independent enough to recover safely in a non-hospital setting. While staying in Recuperative Care, participants can receive assistance with basic needs, follow-up care, case management and connections to housing and community services.

Depending on a participant's needs and eligibility, Recuperative Care services may include:

• Short-term interim housing;
• Three meals each day;
• Wrap-around case management;
• Assistance identifying permanent housing opportunities;
• Connections to behavioral health, substance use treatment, employment, education and other supportive services;
• Basic wellness checks and assistance following an individual's care plan; and
• Transportation coordination for follow-up medical appointments and pharmacy services.

The goal is not simply to provide someone with a bed while they recover. Recuperative Care creates an opportunity to stabilize both a person's health and housing situation and connect them with services that can help reduce future episodes of homelessness or hospitalization. 

The proposed Recuperative Care program will not operate as:

• A hospital or emergency medical facility;
• A skilled nursing facility;
• A long-term housing program;
• A locked psychiatric facility;
• A medical detoxification program; or
• A 24-hour nursing facility.

Participants must be medically appropriate for a non-hospital setting before entering the program.

What Will Change at the SHARE Center?

Once completed, the SHARE Center will continue serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness, but the site will be organized differently.

• Families with children
  Families will move from the congregate sleeping area inside the main building into private sleeping cabins on the SHARE Center property.
• Single adults
  The SHARE Center will continue providing shelter and supportive services for single adults experiencing homelessness.
• Recuperative Care
  A dedicated portion of the existing building will be separated from the general shelter environment and redesigned to accommodate 30 Recuperative Care beds.
• Overall capacity
  The SHARE Center's maximum capacity will remain 128 beds. The project changes how the existing space and beds are configured rather than increasing the total number of people the facility can serve.

Our Goal

The County's goal is to create a SHARE Center that better reflects the different needs of the people who rely on it.

• For families, that means providing a more private and family-centered environment.
• For individuals recovering from illness or hospitalization, it means having a safe place to heal rather than attempting to recover outdoors or in another setting that may not be appropriate.
• For everyone using the SHARE Center, the project is an opportunity to improve the environment while maintaining access to shelter, case management, housing assistance and other supportive services.

The reconfiguration is ultimately about providing services in a way that promotes privacy, dignity, safety, recovery and a pathway toward permanent housing.