A Community-Led Response to Homelessness: Inside Tahoe-Truckee’s New Navigation Center

Tags: Collaborations, Housing

On cold winter nights in Tahoe-Truckee, the consequences of being unhoused are immediate and life-threatening. For years, emergency shelter options in the region were temporary. On Christmas Eve 2015, the Emergency Warming Center opened in the basement of the Church of the Mountains in downtown Truckee. 

It could only open after 5 pm on days with the most severe weather, when temperatures were expected to be below 15° F or more than 1 foot of snow was predicted. The call to open was always uncertain, and it required a deep roster of volunteers to stand by. Many of you signed up as volunteers, delivering home-cooked, family-style meals or greeting guests as they entered. Some of you watched communal movies with guests, or slept sitting up overnight.

This arrangement was only temporary, and each winter raised the same question: what happens when there is nowhere left to go?

The One-Year Navigation Center Pilot aims to answer that question for the foreseeable future. It is a collaborative effort led by the Tahoe Truckee Homeless Action Coalition (TTHAC)** to address a long-standing gap in support for people experiencing homelessness. Opening in early 2026, the Navigation Center will provide a safe, well-managed, 24/7 resource that offers shelter, interim housing, and wraparound services. This will help individuals stabilize while reducing life-threatening winter exposure, emergency-room use, and public safety impacts. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for February 13, 2026.

Years in the Making 

Housing and homelessness look different in North Tahoe-Truckee than in other places. Geographic isolation in the mountains, extreme weather, and disjointed service systems require coordination amongst multi-sector partners and community support. Traditional data sources, particularly county-level housing data and statewide annual Point-In-Time (PIT) Counts, were not capturing the full picture of people experiencing homelessness in Tahoe-Truckee.

From 2017-2023, TTCF led the Mountain Housing Council, a regional collaboration committed to a Collective Impact Model. This provided our community with a deep, locally grounded approach to housing solutions with data and strategy designed specifically for our region through trusted on-the-ground partnerships. 

This work also enabled better accounting for individuals experiencing homelessness and helped inform coordinated services. With more accurate information in hand, partners could move beyond assumptions and begin planning around what was truly needed in the region. 

“Generations of TTCF staff and board have been seeking a sustainable solution for those who need additional support for challenging times in their life and protection from the mountain elements. Being without shelter in winter conditions can mean life or death. We are grateful to the TTHAC leadership for their commitment to a long-term solution, and we are hopeful this Pilot will give us a pathway forward. We are so grateful to our donors for their generous support in helping make this vision a reality.” – -Kelley Carroll, Board Chair, Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation

First Regional Action Plan for Homelessness

TTCF provided seed funding to facilitate collaborative discussions among key stakeholders, including regional public agencies and key nonprofits. These activities were funded by a Legacy Gift bequeathed to address homelessness in Truckee. The donor’s vision was fulfilled when the Tahoe Truckee Homeless Action Coalition (TTHAC) emerged through the formation of a Regional Action Plan and then forged a pathway for the Navigation Center, which the remainder of the Legacy Gift helped fund through TTCF. 

The Tahoe Truckee Regional Homeless Action Plan was released in early 2025. Developed over 18 months, the Action Plan highlighted a critical missing piece in the region’s system of care: year-round crisis stabilization, including shelter beds and coordinated services that could connect people to longer-term housing solutions. 

Through months of community engagement, coordination with county health and human services, and partnership with Volunteers of America, the coalition advanced a vision for a Navigation Center and brought it to life. 

TTCF Helps Align and Leverage Major Gifts 

The first focus area of the Action Plan centers on Crisis Stabilization, including providing an adequate number of interim beds. In Fall 2025, when a building became available, the TTHAC partners pursued the opportunity to pilot the Navigation Center. 

TTCF’s team aligned multiple funding sources to raise $195,000 for the Navigation Center. These donations include the aforementioned Legacy Gift and the generous support of TTCF fundholders who are passionate about meeting community needs. TTCF’s team then worked with the Fellowship of Compassion, the Navigation Center’s fundraising organization, to position the $195,000 as matching grants to inspire more donors to give to the cause during the TTCF Give Back Tahoe Giving Season. This was further bolstered by an additional $50,000 match secured by the Fellowship. 

This brought the total year-end fundraising through Give Back Tahoe to $396,816. With the lease secured through The Town of Truckee, Tahoe Forest Hospital District, Nevada County, and Placer County, these dollars will support the operating and programming costs behind the Navigation Center. 

We are astounded by the community’s response to this effort and applaud the steadfast commitment of the TTHAC partners in advocating for it. Today, the Navigation Center stands as a tangible outcome of years of listening, learning, and collaboration. It offers overnight shelter, daytime services, and a stable point of entry into housing and support, providing dignity during crises and a clearer path forward. 

The Future

Looking ahead, stakeholders feel confident in the pilot’s success and in raising funds for ongoing programming. One opportunity is receiving funding through the state’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. The County of Nevada anticipates submitting an application with the potential to receive up to $3.6 million in CDBG Program funding. To determine which projects to include in a potential CDBG Program application, the County of Nevada Health and Human Services Agency is hosting a public hearing in Truckee.

The purpose of this hearing is to review CDBG eligible activities and collect residents’ views on housing and community development needs (which includes services, facilities, and/or infrastructure that will improve livability within the community). As always, TTCF encourages community members to participate in community decision-making conversations and to do so with the community agreements of Speak Your Peace.

Timeline:

• February 12, 2026: Truckee public hearing to review eligible activities and collect residents’ views on housing and community development needs (which includes services, facilities, and/or infrastructure that will improve livability within the community). Learn more. Location: Donner Conference Room in Joseph Center located on the 2nd floor at 10075 Levon Avenue, Truckee, California 96161
• February 17, 2026: Nevada County Board of Supervisors will meet to determine application projects. Location: Nevada City Office – Eric Rood Administration Center, Nevada City, CA 95959

• April 3, 2026: Application Deadline.

• September 2026: If successful, funding would be released during the Pilot year.