Addressing homelessness is my top priority as your Mayor. Every single day, we are working to get people off the street, connected to services, and on a path to securing permanent housing. This weekly e-newsletter provides updates on each of these efforts and how we are ending homelessness in our City one person at a time. 

Mayor Opens Two New Shelters Ready to Serve Vulnerable Populations 

New Shelter Beds Made Available This Year Now Total More than 600 

Over the past week, we added two more shelter to help more homeless San Diegans get off the street – the Safe Haven shelter at Veterans Village off Pacific Highway and the Seniors Landing Bridge Shelter in Little Italy. 

SAFE HAVEN 

The 22-bed Community Harm Reduction Safe Haven facility at Veterans Village is for people experiencing homelessness who have substance use disorders and mental illness. 

Operated by Episcopal Community Services (ECS) and in partnership with the County of San Diego, prospective clients of the shelter will be referred for placement after screening and evaluation by the Community Harm Reduction Team, which is a service provided by Family Health Centers of San Diego. Family Health Centers will continue to provide ongoing Care Coordination, case management and support services as needed. Veterans Village will provide food for the residents. 

The facility has semi-private rooms, each with a bathroom and kitchenette, as well as a common area with a large kitchen and living room for socializing. The goal is to ensure residents are getting the care they need as they get treatment and gain the skills they need to live independently and end their homelessness. 

SENIORS LANDING 

The Seniors Landing Bridge Shelter is a new, 33-room non-congregate facility. 

Seniors Landing is being operated by Serving Seniors and will prioritize residents 55 and older who have been matched with housing resources, such as rapid-rehousing assistance, permanent supportive housing or a housing voucher.  

Residents will have access to health resources, including mental and behavioral health services; case management and housing navigation services; daily meals; showers, restrooms, laundry services; storage for belongings; hygiene products, basic first aid supplies and cleaning supplies; telephone access and mail services; and counseling services. 

These two new shelters are part of a comprehensive approach to getting people off the streets and connected with the services and housing they need. New beds made available in 2022 total more than 600, with more to come as we work to create more permanent housing that is the long-term solution to our homelessness crisis. 

Learn more about the City’s shelter system: sandiego.gov/homelessness-strategies-and-solutions. 

Meet Hugo

Hugo had been homeless since 2016 and was allowed to sleep overnight in a mechanic’s shop until the shop was sold in 2019.  

Hugo began working with the Alpha Project team in 2019, with case-managers helping him get back on his feet and connected to permanent housing. Hugo is extremely grateful and said he is now able to focus on his health and go visit his family in Mexico knowing he has a home to come back to. 

Outreach --> Shelter --> Housing. That’s how we’re addressing homelessness. 

Focused Street Outreach in Morley Field Connects Dozens with Help to End Their Homelessness 

Our Coordinated Street Outreach Program conducts focused outreach events across the city, during which outreach teams canvass an area to engage unsheltered people where they are and help connect them to supportive services. 

These twice-monthly, multiagency events provide unhoused residents with case management, health education, public benefits, mental health services, substance abuse treatment, primary care referrals, and access to hygiene kits, transportation and other essentials. 

Balboa Park/Morley Field 

A multidisciplinary team revisited the encampments in Balboa Park and around Morley Field. Field outreach teams canvassed the War Memorial Building, Park Boulevard at the corner of Morley Field Drive, and the Children’s Playground on Sixth Avenue and Upas Street. 

During the three-day event, 14 people enrolled in street-based case management and will continue to work daily with an outreach specialist to address their homelessness. Separately, 44 people received assistance in obtaining public benefits, and 12 people received transportation assistance to access identification at the DMV.  

Overall, 31 people in the area where the outreach was focused are working with a case manager, with 18 of them in line to access housing as soon as it becomes available. 

Understanding the City’s Shelter System 

The City of San Diego has contracts with various service providers throughout the city to provide shelter options for individuals to stabilize in a safe, sanitary environment while they are connected to permanent or other long-term housing. 

The shelters listed below are City-funded or included as part of the City’s Coordinated Intake System for shelter placements. (Note: These do not represent all shelters operating within the City of San Diego.)

• Alpha Project Bridge Shelter I 
• Alpha Project Bridge Shelter II 
• Community Harm Reduction Shelter 
• Father Joe’s Villages Bishop Maher Center 
• Father Joe’s Villages Paul Mirabile Center 
• Golden Hall, First Floor 
• Golden Hall, Second Floor 
• Palm Avenue Bridge Housing Program 
• PATH Connections Housing 
• Rachel’s Promise Women’s Shelter 
• Rosecrans Shelter 
• San Diego Youth Services 
• Urban Street Angels Youth Shelter