CHICO, California — The True North Housing Alliance in Chico named its Navigation Center project after a generous, long-time community partner.
“He had talked about it at some point and said, ‘One day I would really like to make a big donation and put my name on a building.’ And so his dream came true,” said Brandon Slater, president of Slater & Son Construction.
The Navigation Center was named after Howard Slater of Slater and Son Construction in honor of his lasting legacy. His family has generously donated a total of $200,000 to the Center, $70,000 of which came from the North Valley Community Foundation’s Howard Slater Memorial Fund.
The Howard Slater Navigation Center provides a wide range of resources and assistance to the homeless in Butte County.
“This will actually reduce barriers and simplify access to services so that we can not only help the homeless more quickly, efficiently and comprehensively, but also better prevent homelessness in the first place,” says Ashiah Bird, marketing and communications director for the True North Housing Alliance.
The facility will be an expansion of the current shelter on Silver Dollar Way in Chico and will include a spacious waiting room, service access area, intake area and offices for service providers and staff.
Slater’s unwavering commitment to supporting the community during difficult times lives on in his son Brandon, his wife Diane and his grandson Revin.
“He said, ‘Oh, I really want to do something for Popsie,’ and we started thinking about what he could do. He came up with the idea of wanting to do something for the Torres Shelter,” Slater said.
The multimillion-dollar project, with a budget of $2.5 million, is expected to be completed in 2025. The project is a sign of their efforts to improve the quality of life of many members of the community.
“It’s hard to put into words how much a donation like this (the Slater family donation) can mean to a project like this,” Bird explained.
The Slater family is happy to be part of this project, which includes the building with Howard Slater’s famous moustache.
“It’s really an honor for him and the family. It’s pretty damn cool,” Slater concluded.
To donate to the Howard Slater Memorial Fund, which supports the project, click here. To donate to the True North Housing Alliance, click here.
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