Addressing homelessness is my top priority. Every single day, we are getting people off the street, connected to services and on a path to securing permanent housing. 

City of San Diego’s Second Safe Sleeping Site Opens for People Experiencing Homelessness 

We have opened the City’s second Safe Sleeping site, and people are steadily moving in.

As of Thursday morning, 40 individuals were enrolled at our new Safe Sleeping site at O Lot in Balboa Park.  

“I love it here,” said Jerri, a senior who’s one of the new residents at the new Safe Sleeping site. “The tent's so big, it feels almost weird having all that space. It's got windows. It's got a floor. We've got laundry.”  

The O Lot has three tiers that can accommodate a total of 400 tents, each with enough space for two people and their belongings. To help with inclement weather conditions, we are providing insulated tents that will help regulate internal temperatures, and City crews built four-inch platforms to raise them off the ground. 

In addition to the tents, this program provides on-site meals, restrooms, showers, laundry, storage, case management, basic needs assistance and resource referrals. People can be referred to the Safe Sleeping Program through the City’s Coordinated Street Outreach Program or by San Diego Police Department. Couples or partners can enter the program together, and domestic pets are welcome.

The O Lot builds on the success we’ve seen at our first Safe Sleeping site at the City’s Central Operations Yard at 20th and B streets, which is sheltering nearly 150 people while also helping them access the services that will help them end their homelessness.

The operator at 20th & B, Dreams for Change, is one of two operators at O Lot, along with the Downtown San Diego Partnership. I want to thank them both for stepping up to help.

Homelessness is a humanitarian crisis in San Diego, and for the past three years, we have been treating it as such. It’s inhumane to let people languish on our streets, which is why the City is following the plan laid out in our Comprehensive Shelter Strategy and attacking this crisis from every possible angle. 

Our Safe Sleeping sites are just the latest effort to get people out of unsafe encampments and on the path to permanent housing.  

Jerri was sleeping on Commercial Street before she enrolled in the City’s new Safe Sleeping Program. She said she had been saying no to offers of shelter because she wasn’t interested in sleeping in a congregate setting so close to other people.

“I don’t do crowds,” Jerri said. “I don’t do people. Forget it, I just couldn’t do it.”  

Jerri said the tents are perfect for more introverted people like her who prefer to be alone. She says she is now ready to connect with a caseworker and begin her work of finding a permanent home.

“I just want to say thank you to whoever decided to do this, because this is awesome.”

Families Formerly Sheltered at Golden Hall Happy in New Rooms at City’s Family Shelter in Barrio Logan 

About 40 families who were staying at the City’s temporary Golden Hall shelter were relocated to the City’s new family shelter in Barrio Logan. 

Cris, an 18-year-old who’s been experiencing homelessness with his single mom and brother since he was 12, has been at the family shelter since moving there from Golden Hall a few months ago. He says he appreciates having a room of his own so he can study and keep up with the classes he’s taking at Southwestern College. 

“I have a bit more room for myself,” Cris said. “More room to think. I feel like it is much better here. ... I feel more secure.”

In February, I announced that Golden Hall would eventually close and all the people staying there would be moved to new shelters and housing. Since then, the City has successfully relocated all the families and youth.

Jose Lopez and his son are also among the families who relocated from Golden Hall to the family shelter in Barrio Logan. Jose says he appreciates Alpha Project, the nonprofit running the family shelter for the City, and all the work his caseworker has done to help him and his son as they work toward getting into a home of their own. 

“We have privacy, we have our own restroom, and staff here is respectful and treats us with dignity,” Jose said. “I'm very grateful.” 

Understanding the City's Shelter System 

The City of San Diego has contracts with various service providers to offer shelter options to people experiencing homelessness. At our shelters, people are connected to support services and ultimately put on a path toward permanent housing.  

The shelters listed below are City-funded or included as part of the City’s Coordinated Intake System for shelter placements. (Note: There are additional shelters outside of this system that are operating within the City of San Diego.) 

• Alpha Project Bridge Shelter I  
• Alpha Project Bridge Shelter II  
• Barrio Logan Family Shelter 
• Community Harm Reduction Shelter  
• Community Harm Reduction Safe Haven 
• Father Joe’s Villages Bishop Maher Center  
• Father Joe’s Villages Paul Mirabile Center  
• Golden Hall, First Floor  
• LGBT Center - LGBTQ+ Affirming TAY Shelter (Clairemont) 
• LGBT Center - LGBTQ+ Affirming TAY Shelter (Midway) 
• PATH Connections Housing  
• O Lot Safe Sleeping Site  
• Rachel’s Promise Women’s Shelter  
• Rosecrans Shelter  
• Safe Sleeping at 20th & B  
• Safe Sleeping at O Lot  
• Salvation Army Interim Family Shelter 
• San Diego Youth Services 
• Seniors Landing  
• San Diego Youth Services  
• Urban Street Angels Youth Shelter  

New Supportive Housing in San Ysidro  

Milejo Village, a new affordable housing project in San Ysidro, is set to celebrate its grand opening on Nov. 2.  

Developed by Jamboree Housing Corporation in partnership with our San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) and the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, Milejo Village offers 64 one, two, and three-bedroom apartments that will enable individuals and families to end their homelessness. 

The project also includes comprehensive, dedicated onsite supportive services to help ensure the seniors and families living in Milejo Village have the resources they need to be successful and remain stable and secure in their housing.  

Supportive housing projects like this one are a proven solution to ending homelessness. I appreciate and applaud Jamboree, the county and the SDHC for their work on this innovative supportive housing project that is already changing the lives of its residents.    

Housing Action Package 2.0: Homes for Students  

Nationwide, about three in five college students report housing instability.

Here in San Diego, the City is home to several community colleges and major universities, but the supply of off-campus homes at those schools has yet to meet the demand for student housing.

Given the shortage, there’s a huge need in San Diego for more affordable off-campus homes, especially for low-income students.

My administration is working to meet this need by cutting red tape and incentivizing the development of student housing near colleges and near transit. My Housing Action Package 2.0 includes a policy reform that will remove existing regulations and barriers to producing off-campus student housing and offer incentives to spur the creation of more homes that students can afford.

This policy reform includes amendments to codes that regulate where and how dense student housing can be and incentives such as increasing bicycle parking requirements and removing car parking requirements, which makes a development less expensive and easier to build.

The affordable student housing project that the San Diego Community College District recently announced is a huge step in the right direction when it comes to fixing the problem of student housing instability. We all must do our part to address our regional homelessness and housing crisis.

I look forward to City Council consideration of my student housing reforms, and the rest of HAP 2.0, scheduled for November.