Dear Neighbor, 

We have opened the City’s second Safe Sleeping site for people experiencing homelessness.

Over the weekend, we welcomed unsheltered San Diegans to O Lot. This site 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 Officers. 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.

Thanks to our Homelessness Strategies and Solutions team and the site’s operator, Dreams for Change, 20th and B is housing nearly 150 people while also helping them access the services that will help them end their homelessness.

Dreams for Change also operates 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.

As always, it’s an honor to serve as your Mayor. 

Combatting Fentanyl Through Collaboration and Crackdowns on Dealers 

Illicit fentanyl is a deadly drug that demands a unified response from all segments of our society – government, healthcare, law enforcement, and the community.

As part of a statewide effort to combat illicit fentanyl, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and I organized a roundtable to bring San Diego leaders together to stop the distribution of this poison. We invited leaders from federal, state and local governments, along with local healthcare and homelessness-services organizations, to a roundtable discussion on strategies to address the growing problem of the dangerous street drug and its impact on families and communities.

The statistics are sobering. Last year, in the City of San Diego alone, illicit fentanyl killed 410 people. For comparison, five years ago, 45 people died due to a fentanyl overdose.

The death toll among homeless people is especially high; last year, fentanyl overdose killed 181 people experiencing homelessness, making it the number one cause of death for this population. During the past five years, the fentanyl death rate among people experiencing homelessness has increased nearly 6,000%.

This devastating loss of life is why, in November 2022, I signed an executive order that directed greater law-enforcement and legislative action to address the illicit fentanyl crisis.

In the time since I issued the order, the San Diego Police Department has increased arrests of fentanyl dealers by 63% in the city of San Diego. I want to thank Police Chief David Nisleit and the Police Department for making this a priority and bringing these death merchants to justice.

We’re also partnering with state legislators like Senator Tom Umberg and San Diego’s own Assemblymember Brian Maienschein to introduce legislation to enhance penalties on dealers who sell a lethal dose of fentanyl that results in someone’s death.

Neither bill passed this year, but I am committed to continuing to seek state legislation on this crisis in 2024.

The fact remains that the rise of illicit fentanyl presents a grave threat to our communities and our society.

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 of affordable off-campus rental housing options, 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.

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

Students deserve stability rather than having to worry about a place to live. 

Improvements Coming to Kennedy Park in Lincoln Park  

The City has kicked off a $4.8 million project to improve John F. Kennedy Park in San Diego’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.

The improvements include a new restroom, play structures, fitness equipment, enhanced lighting to provide more safety, and other amenities and upgrades.

The project is being funded by Community Development Block Grant funds and development impact fees and the Lincoln Park community has long asked for these improvements to the 52-year-old park. 

The investment of $4.8 million in the planning of Kennedy Park shows that we are intentionally promoting safety and livability through environmental design,” said Council President pro Tem Monica Montgomery Steppe. “We must be intentional in our efforts to address the long-standing neglect of our quality-of-life issues. I look forward to seeing residents and people across District Four enjoy the park renovations and embrace this development as a win.” 

This is just one of 18 parks across San Diego getting improvements this fiscal year. We are working to make sure every neighborhood has access to quality parks. Lincoln Park and other historically underserved communities deserve nice parks where residents can enjoy being outside with friends, family and neighbors.

Read more about this park improvement project on Inside San Diego.

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, was at Golden Hall but has been at the family shelter since March. 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 people 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.”