\u201cWe gave referrals and information on where he could get a shower and some food,\u201d Veronica Goei, executive director of Grail Family Services, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWe asked for permission to call 911 so that an ambulance could take him to (Regional Medical Center). He said, \u2018Thank you\u2019 because someone paid attention and stopped to care.\u201d<\/p>\n
The navigation center, which opened in late September, brings San Jose, Santa Clara County and nonprofit partners together in an effort to connect East San Jose families with services and support. The navigation center offers case management, referrals to social services, parent workshops, after school programming<\/a>\u00a0and a math and reading mentorship program.<\/p>\n The crux of the model is to provide East San Jose residents community and social services in one place, breaking systemic barriers to care.\u00a0 The city-owned facility will be operated by Grail Family Services at the Capitol Park Neighborhood Center at 800 Peter Pan Ave.<\/p>\n \u201cThis navigation center represents an important shift on how we think about serving families in San Jose,\u201d Goei said. \u201cToo often, families are asked to navigate complicated systems on their own, trying to figure out which door to go through, which agency to call and where to turn next. We want this to be a place where families can come, be heard and connect to the people and resources they need.\u201d<\/p>\n Grail is working with San Jose State University to create an internship program to provide the center with mentors and additional after school support.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jessica Camacho, strategic manager for San Jose\u2019s Children Youth Service Master Plan<\/a>, said the navigation center is a neighborhood asset.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople can just literally knock on the door and they\u2019re like, \u2018Hey, do you know about this? Do you know about that?\u2019 And we fill in the gaps,\u201d she told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cIt sets their worries at ease when they\u2019re worried about things that happen around the neighborhood, things they see on the news.\u201d<\/p>\n Several city departments collaborated with the navigation center\u2019s creation. Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services chose Grail<\/a> to operate it, Public Works helped redevelop it and the Housing Department provided financial resources for renovations. Plans are underway to have county outreach workers onsite and a satellite branch of the San Jose Public Library.\u00a0<\/p>\n The center works with the city and county to offer residents a \u201cno wrong door\u201d approach to services, helping connect them with a personal transfer of care.<\/p>\n Andrea Flores Shelton, assistant director of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, said the navigation center is one of the city\u2019s many community facilities in need of a qualified community operator.<\/p>\n \u201cGrail<\/a> qualified \u2026 and they had this idea,\u201d she told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThey have a Children Youth Master Plan grant from us as one of our demonstration site partners. So, it was a great sort of marriage of the work they\u2019re doing to advance the Children Youth Services Master Plan \u2026 and how the \u2018no wrong door\u2019 approach would actually work in a physical space.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/PXL_20261007_193547715-1024x771.jpg\")
Jessica Camacho, strategic manager for San Jose\u2019s Children Youth Service Master Plan, said the navigation center fills community service gaps. Photo by Lorraine Gabbert.<\/p>\n
![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791908650_934_interactive-321838904008.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n