One Hayward homeless shelter is keeping its doors open for a little while longer. Hayward City Council passed a resolution declaring a shelter crisis on Oct. 6, allowing a Restorative Pathways facility to remain open until 2036.
Restorative Pathways, formerly Ruby’s Place, provides shelter for domestic violence survivors and human trafficking victims who are fleeing from their abusers. A staff report said that the organization is the nation’s first shelter for survivors of interpersonal violence.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers people who are trying to escape violence as homeless. The group provides emergency shelter and transitional housing for up to eight families experiencing homelessness through tiny homes on wheels. The 2026 Point in Time count showed that there’s 404 people experiencing homelessness in Hayward.
The homeless shelter applied for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to stay at the location, but could not fulfill all the requirements, including making the shelter permanent by laying the homes on a foundation. According to a staff report, homes on wheels are considered a vehicle, and the city doesn’t allow people to live and sleep in their vehicles. The 2036 ending date for the shelter crisis allows Restorative Pathways to work on getting a CUP to meet health and safety standards.
