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. 

2023 Plans to Tackle Homelessness Crisis Include Stemming the Tide of Newly Homeless  

The end of the year is time to take stock of the accomplishments of the past 12 months and set goals for the coming year. 

In 2022, we accelerated our efforts to stand up new shelters that would help get people off the streets, connected to services and ultimately to the housing that can end their homelessness.  

This past year, we increased our shelter capacity by over 40%, making more than 600 additional beds available in our shelter system. This includes adding specialty shelters for specific populations of homeless individuals, like a women’s shelter and a Safe Haven facility for people who struggle with mental illness and addiction disorders, in an effort to hopefully increase the chances of people coming off the streets 

But we also now have the hard data that confirms all of our progress in moving thousands of people off the streets is being subsumed by San Diegans becoming homeless for the first time as they face eviction amid ever-increasing housing costs. For every 10 homeless people we get into permanent housing, another 13 are becoming homeless for the first time. 

In 2023, we plan to tackle the other end of the homelessness crisis – the eviction crisis – and put in place new protections for tenants that help them stay in their homes. 

Of course, we still plan to continue with our strategy of outreach, creating shelter and, of course, creating the conditions to add to the supply of homes so that every San Diegan can put a roof over their head at a price they can afford. 

Here are some highlights of our homelessness response since I took office two years ago:   

March 2021   

• Started the City’s coordinated outreach program.   

Summer 2021   

• Launched a month-long concentrated outreach effort in downtown San Diego to deploy outreach workers. We have now replicated this effort every two weeks at hot spots across the city.    
• Announced first slate of “Homes for All of Us” policy reforms to ensure affordable homes are built more quickly. 
• Created the Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department to focus on standing up new shelters.   

December 2021   

• Partnered with County of San Diego to open a 44-bed community harm reduction shelter.   

March 2022  

• Launched “Bridge to Home” funding initiative to help bridge financing gap for 100% affordable projects in the city. 

June 2022   

• Opened a 40-room non-congregate shelter in South Bay that prioritizes seniors.   

July 2022   

• Opened a 40-bed shelter for women in downtown.   

August 2022 

• Released second slate of policy reforms to create more affordable housing. 
• Awarded state Project Homekey grant for 40-home supportive housing project. 

September 2022   

• Opened a 150-bed Rosecrans shelter with the county.   
• Announced Round 2 of “Bridge to Home” city funding for 100% affordable housing projects. 
• Expanded Mission Valley Safe Parking lot to 24 hours.  

December 2022   

• Opened a 22-bed CHRT Safe Haven at Veterans Village 
• Announced tenant-protection framework to protect renters. 
• Designated a “Prohousing City” by the State of California   
• Opened the 33-room Seniors Landing Bridge Shelter  

Here are projects that are in process:   

• A family non-congregate shelter that will house roughly 160 people.    
• A new LGBTQ shelter.    
• A pilot safe camping site in downtown San Diego with space for 40 tents for seniors.    
• Expanding our safe parking program, starting with a fourth lot off of Morena Blvd. in the Bay Ho neighborhood.   

As long as I am your Mayor, I won’t give up on making sure this is the City’s top priority and that we’re doing everything we can to get people off the streets and into permanent housing.

Mayor Opens New Shelter Ready to Serve Vulnerable Populations 

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

The City has opened another shelter in order to help more homeless San Diegans get off the street – the Seniors Landing Bridge Shelter in Little Italy. 

This 33-room shelter is a non-congregate facility that will house up to 60 people. Operated by Serving Seniors, it 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. The City-funded shelter system now has a total of 1,721 beds, 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 Maria

Maria came to San Diego in 1999 from Kansas City hoping to start a better life for herself. Arriving in San Diego not knowing anyone, she struggled and was never able to get on her feet. For 23 years, Maria lived on the streets while using the services at the Neil Good Day center in Downtown.  

For years, outreach teams tried to get Maria off the streets and into shelter, but she declined every time. Finally, Maria decided it was time to end her homelessness. She was able to get into a shelter, where she obtained all the documents she needed and got matched to housing. Now Maria has a place to call home after more than two decades on San Diego’s streets. 

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

Focused Street Outreach in Rolando Park 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. 

Rolando Park  

Supporting individuals experiencing homelessness is critical to helping them off the streets. Earlier this month, the City’s Focused Outreach Event in Rolando Park engaged with 90 people, assisting with various needs including shelter services, vaccinations, acquiring identification and records and pet care.  

Here is a sampling of the services received by clients at the event: 

• 15 Dogs/Cats serviced with Project Street Vet 
• 11 Vaccinations (Hep A, Flu, MPX, and COVID-19) 
• 8 IDs obtained with transportation to DMV by Uplift 
• 7 Birth Certificates provided by Third Avenue Charitable Organization (T.A.C.O.)  
• 2 Shelter placements 
• 1 Safe Parking Referral 

City Secures Lifting of Restriction on Old Central Library, Making Way for New Homeless Shelter Options   

In my State of the City last year, I pledged to explore use of the Old Central Library in Downtown for use as a potential homeless shelter or housing for people experiencing homelessness. A century-old deed restriction by the donor of the land required the site to be used only for a library and reading room.   

Working with the City Attorney, I’m pleased to report that we were successful in getting the deed restriction removed, allowing us now to plan for use of the building and site for a shelter and perhaps ultimately permanent housing.   

City crews have already begun preparing the site to act as a temporary shelter in the very near term. Residents are expected to move in as soon as next week, and planning for the long-term future will start immediately.

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