Nestled on a leafy suburban street near the scenic Del Paso Regional Park, the Children’s Receiving Home of Sacramento (CRH) stands as a safe haven for local children, youth, and families affected by abuse, neglect, and trauma.
Initially born out of a collaboration between the Junior League of Sacramento and the Rotary Club of Sacramento, the CRH began in 1944 as a shelter for youth in crisis and has since grown to be much more. From on-site preschool to outpatient mental health care for children with depression and anxiety to residential treatment services, the Children’s Receiving Home is a community pillar there for those seeking understanding, care, and treatment.
Operating out of several unassuming, low-rise buildings in suburban Sacramento, one might drive right past the CRH without noticing it. The CRH places its resources and emphasis on the quality of the care it can provide for the children and families who come through its doors. On average, staff at the CRH works to bring lasting healing to over 1,000 children each year.
Cutting costs without cutting care is a struggle many non-profits know too well, the CRH included. With our community sponsor, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), GRID Alternatives connected the 100-year institution to clean energy solutions that not only cuts electrical costs by more than 50 percent.
In December of 2023, GRID installed a total of 77.29 kW-DC in solar across the Children’s Receiving Home campus. The solar systems in place are expected to provide the Children’s Receiving Home with approximately $23,913 in annual savings, which go right back into the programming and treatment costs for the youth at the CRH.
“The system that GRID installed will offset up to 60% of our energy usage. Those are dollars we are not having to spend on energy and can instead use them towards increasing our mental health services for the children we serve. The fact that we can make a difference in the environment by contributing to a cleaner Sacramento is another long-term bonus, but the fact that these dollars are going directly to serving the kids is just the biggest thing to us,” said Travis Murphy, the Facilities Director at CRH.
Partnering with other nonprofit organizations who are dedicated to serving their communities is a special part of our multifamily solar program. We are thrilled to be a part of the Children’s Receiving Home’s clean energy journey and to be able to accelerate their investments in the youth they serve throughout Sacramento.
For more information on our multifamily affordable housing work, contact:
Shamir Chauhan
Director of Multifamily Development
multifamily@gridalternatives.org
510-731-1318