Torres Community Shelter
Our longest running program
The Torres Community Shelter is our service-enhanced shelter that serves individuals 18 and older in Butte County 24-hours a day 365 days a year.
Our team at the Torres Shelter provides 3 warm meals a day, showers, laundry services, vocational training programs, enrichment activities, and safe place to sleep for up to 177 people experiencing homelessness.
But that’s not all—our case managers provide one-on-one guidance for every guest we serve, helping them access healthcare (including mental health and sobriety resources), employment and income, and permanent housing.
Established in 2003, the Torres Community Shelter is the longest running program of True North.
505
people served in 2021
We can serve up to 177 people per night at the Torres Shelter.
53%
MENTAL HEALTH CONDITION
More than half of our guests in 2021 experienced mental illness.
30%
age 55 and older
Older adults and seniors are the fastest growing demographic.
For Our Guests
New to the shelter? Please arrive at 2 p.m. for intake.
Returning guests must check in by 6 p.m. daily. Please call and get prior approval for alternate check-in time.
If you are seeking services and have stayed at the shelter before, please make an appointment with your case manager.
To make an appointment to meet with staff, please call between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday-Friday. Case managers, agency representatives and social workers from other service providers must call ahead prior to intake to arrange for shelter entry on behalf of their clients.
BASIC RULES:
It is our highest priority to make the Torres Shelter a safe, clean and healthy place to stay for all. No drinking or drugs are allowed, and we do not tolerate violent or aggressive behavior.
Kitchen Crew - “Breakfast Club'“
Designed to be as much a work opportunity as it is a way to provide our guests with balanced meals, our vocational kitchen program (called the Breakfast Club in its early days) helps move people forward by providing transferable work skills so they can regain a stable income.
The Kitchen Crew is selected through a competitive process. Guests submit an application and resume and then participate in an interview. Those who are selected then go through job training. All become fully certified as food handlers through ServSafe, a program administered by the U.S. National Restaurant Association.
Guests spend upwards of 30 hours planning, preparing, cooking and serving breakfast and lunch, as well as doing inventory and kitchen sanitation, giving them a healthy dose of real-world experience.
This provides a stepping stone to employment—many of our kitchen crew members have gone on to secure jobs in the food service industry.
“It was good for me. It kept my mind going. I learned how to cook. Next thing I knew, I was running the kitchen.”
landscape Crew
The Torres Community Shelter also offers valuable vocational training and work experience in landscaping and groundskeeping via the Landscape Crew.
“If it weren’t for the Torres Shelter, I would be wandering the streets. This food is awesome, showers are nice and having a cozy bed is superb.”