Olive Crest and Crest Community Church leaders, joined by city officials and project partners, break ground Thursday on Crest Cottages, an 11-home development for foster youth and struggling families.
A decade after former Mayor Rusty Bailey challenged Riverside's faith community to address the needs of vulnerable residents, Olive Crest and Crest Community Church broke ground Thursday on Crest Cottages—a housing development built on the premise that solving homelessness requires more than a roof.
The project, approved by the Planning Commission last April, will bring 11 homes and a multipurpose community building to the church's Mount Vernon Avenue property, serving young adults aging out of foster care and single mothers at risk of losing their children to the child welfare system.
What distinguishes the development: Olive Crest will provide case management, counseling, and life skills programming, while church members supply what Executive Director Tracy Fitzsimmons calls "the living support."
"The child welfare system was never intended to replace the family," Fitzsimmons said. "As we're exiting youth from our programs, we have community members surrounding our kids and families so that they're no longer in isolation."
Residents will agree to maintain employment, pursue education, build savings and engage with support services.
According to Olive Crest, 60% of children who are sex trafficked come from the child welfare system, 60% of teens who age out become homeless or housing insecure within a year and 60% of children from the system will be incarcerated at some point.
A model with proof of concept
The partnership follows a model established by Grove Community Church, which has operated Grove Village since December 2018.
"We approached them and they said, 'Here's all of our notes, here's our people, here's tons of time,'" Pastor John Dixon said. "We have greatly appreciated the Grove's assistance."
Andy Gibeault, Community Impact Pastor at Grove Community Church, told the Planning Commission last spring: "We have not encountered problems with drugs, vagrancy, squatters, trash or abandoned vehicles."
Church volunteers will provide after-school tutoring, child care, carpooling and community classes in the multipurpose building. A "missionary couple"—full-time staff living on-site—will help build trust with residents. The site's design reinforces this approach: homes are arranged around communal spaces with front porches facing shared gathering areas.
Fitzsimmons noted that the multipurpose room's largest feature is a game area—key to connecting with young adults who may be slow to trust.
"They're not going to come down and sit with you and talk to you," she said of residents. "But you can build trust over time."
The church is also opening up the back of its sanctuary to welcome residents into congregational life.
Ten years in the making
The project began in 2016, when Bailey launched his "Love Your Neighbor" initiative. Pastor Dixon said the church had been praying about how to use its property "for the good of our neighbors."
"When Tracy and I first walked Crest's property, we were stunned that our visions were so aligned," Dixon said.
Fitzsimmons credited Roger Clarke, president of Ruhnau Clarke Architects, with an early decision that unlocked the project's momentum.
"I didn't understand just the weight of the yes behind what you did," she said.
Cheryl-Marie Hansberger, who emceed Thursday's ceremony, described the project as "the result of years and years of relentless dedication, focus, and effectiveness."
City leaders turned out for the milestone, including Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson and Councilmembers Clarissa Cervantes and Chuck Conder.
Olive Crest CEO Donald Verleur II said the Riverside project is part of the organization's strategy to serve 1.2 million children and families by 2030 through church partnerships.
"We can't do it on our own," Verleur said.
'A crisis of community'
Both Dixon and Fitzsimmons framed the project as addressing a "poverty of relationships."
"Underneath the housing crisis was a more fundamental problem, which was a crisis of community," Dixon said. "There were folks that we knew who were struggling with housing security that didn't have anyone in their lives that they could turn to in a moment of crisis."
The project has raised more than $2 million toward construction, with support from donors including In-N-Out Foundation, Pacific Premier Bank and the David Wilson Family Foundation. Construction partners include Ruhnau Clarke Architects, Tilden-Coil Constructors, Design West Engineering, HomeAid Inland Empire and more than a dozen other firms. A 20-year ground lease, with options extending up to 45 years, reflects the long-term commitment.
Fitzsimmons acknowledged that a funding gap remains but expressed optimism about Riverside's generosity. Those interested in supporting the project can learn more at olivecrest.org/riverside-campaign.
Steffen Sommers, an Olive Crest trustee and administrator at SDH Associates—one of the firms that donated services to the project—offered a glimpse of what that community support looks like in practice. He and his wife, Sarah, first connected with a young mother through Olive Crest's hosting program. The mother—who had herself aged out of foster care—was facing an open child services case and was pregnant.
"What started as us taking a few kids during an emergency to keep a family together has turned into a rich relationship that has shown this mother that she is not alone and has friends," Sommers said.
Today, she has a steady job, stable housing and plans for her future.
"It's an incomparable joy to see this family thrive."
The Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce will honor the longest-serving university president in California at its April event recognizing business leadership.
