A Fresno emergency shelter that shut down in December 2025 due to lack of funds will find new life as a recuperative care facility.

Fresno Housing announced Monday that RH Community Builders will take over use of the former Journey Home property in southwest Fresno. According to Fresno Housing, the property will be transformed into a recuperative care facility — a site where homeless medical patients can recover from hospital treatment.

Fresno Housing will retain ownership of the property, which at one time was a Welcome Inn motel.

Tyrone Roderick Williams, CEO of Fresno Housing, said the lease agreement with RH means the building can once again be used to serve vulnerable populations.

“This work is about more than buildings,” Roderick Williams said. “For decades, Fresno Housing has been part of the solution to housing instability in our region. As needs evolve, our responsibility is to ensure properties like this continue serving the community in ways that create stability, dignity, and opportunity for those who need it most.”

Medicaid Changes Could Affect Recuperative Care Availability

Negotiations for the 150-bed facility — called Evolve Path — began in summer 2025 when the two entities knew the building would be soon vacant, said Katie Wilbur, executive director of RH Community Builders.

RH also took over operations of another recuperative care site at 4080 N. Blackstone after operator Sol Housing lost its contract with CalViva. That recuperative care facility has now closed with those still needing care moved to another RH property, Wilbur said.

At Evolve Path, patients recovering from treatments or procedures. Wilbur said they will have a nurse practitioner and LVNs on staff. As an affordable housing developer, RH also has a case management team to work on permanent housing plans.

“Individuals who have been receiving hospital-level care and were homeless prior to going into the hospital are able to be discharged there when they no longer need hospital-level care, but their ailments or injuries wouldn’t heal appropriately if they return directly to literal homelessness,” Wilbur said.

Typically, tenants get 90 days approved from their Medi-Cal plans, but those stays can be increased depending on the level of care needed.

California’s CalAIM Medi-Cal program kept recuperative care coverage largely intact in the face of drastic changes to Medicaid in 2025 by President Donald Trump’s administration. However, Wilbur does expect changes later in the year, when the waiver expires.

“We do expect the next generation to look different, but nobody really knows what that looks like,” Wilbur said.