Supervisor Fletcher Announces cities of Escondido, Carlsbad, Chula Vista, & San Diego to receive County funds for shelters to help seniors and families in the region
Four more awards totaling $5,324,435.48 in County of San Diego grants are being given to the cities of Escondido, Carlsbad, Chula Vista and San Diego to expand shelter capacity to support people experiencing homelessness.
Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, Chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, originally announced the program during his 2022 State of the County Address. In September, the first $4.3 million was awarded to the cities of Vista, Oceanside and San Diego. These latest awards were part of a second round of solicitations sent to cities and no other awards will be made.
“We are investing another $5 million in the infrastructure four cities in San Diego County need to help get seniors, families and women off the streets, connected to services and eventually into permanent housing,” said Supervisor Fletcher. “This County driven initiative to fund shelters is an example of the fundamental change my office has worked to bring to the County over the past four years. There was a time when the County left cities to fend for themselves on the issues of homelessness, now we are working with them as partners.”
Details about the projects the four cities will use the funds to complete are as follows:
City of Carlsbad – Awarded $2,000,000 – La Posada de Guadalupe Expansion
- Funding will be used to expand the shelter by renovating the existing space and adding a second floor. The shelter currently has 50 beds for single men. The planned expansion will increase the shelter’s capacity by 30-50 non-congregate beds to serve women and families. The shelter is operated by the Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego in partnership with the City of Carlsbad. Construction is expected to start in 2023 and the expanded beds will open as soon as construction is complete.
City of Escondido – Awarded $736,066.68 – Family Shelter Program
- Funding will be used to retrofit a space to accommodate the families so they have a safe space to sleep at night and where they can access case management and housing navigation services. This is part of a partnership with Interfaith Community Services will serve 10-16 families at one time based on the size and composition of the families but will allow for 36 new beds and include an outdoor play area, security system, and furnishings.
City of Chula Vista – Awarded $1,845,296.46 – First Chula Vista Bridge Shelter Sleeping Cabins, 205 27th Street
- Funding will be used for the first homeless bridge shelter within its city which includes 65 individual sleeping cabins (pallet type shelters) for individuals and their pets, with bathrooms/showers and laundry facilities. An operator will be onsite 24-hours – 7 days a week to provide the necessary wrap-around services including security and meal service. Site operation is scheduled for January 2023.
City of San Diego – Awarded $350,367.93 – Bridge Family Shelter
- Funding will be to support transforming a former 42 room hotel that will serve 200 people annually. Site preparation, capital improvements for client rooms and safety features will make the facility accessible for families. This shelter is scheduled to be operational by March 2023.
City of San Diego – Awarded $392,704.40 – Bridge Senior Shelter, 1655 Pacific Highway
- Funding will support transforming a former 34 room hotel into a non-congregant shelter for senior citizens 55 years and older to receive onsite supportive services including shelter, meals, laundry, mail services, security, housing support, and case management. This shelter is scheduled to be operational by January 2023.
“I want to thank all the cities that applied for grants for their purposeful submissions,” said County Community Operations Office Barbara Jiménez who oversees the Department of Homeless Solutions & Equitable Communities. “We are excited to work with those funded as part of the County and Board of Supervisors expanded regional approach to addressing homelessness.”
“Investing $1.8 million in Chula Vista and a total of $5.3 million in San Diego County is a step in the right direction to addressing the homelessness crisis in the region,” said Nora Vargas, Vice Chair San Diego County Board of Supervisors. “As a County, we are committed to finding innovative ways to house our unsheltered neighbors. These investments are significant and critical to bringing long-term solutions and creating permanent housing options in our community. I look forward to partnering with the City of Chula Vista and the City of San Diego and seeing their projects come to fruition of establishing non-congregate emergency housing and bridge shelter.”
“This new infusion of County funding to our cities represents an investment in desperately-needed shelter space to help seniors, families, and others start their journey back into a home,” said Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer. “This board is once again stepping up to be a meaningful partner in tackling the homelessness crisis to help every San Diegan live with dignity.”
“Seniors and families are, unfortunately, some of the fastest growing homeless populations in our country. I’m happy to see the City of Escondido in partnership with Interfaith Community Services receive this funding to serve unsheltered families in the North County,” said Supervisor Jim Desmond, San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
What the Cities Say About the Grants
“The City is grateful to receive this important funding from the County. It will allow the City and its community partner, Interfaith Community Services, to make much needed capital improvements to better serve families experiencing homelessness in Escondido,” said Christopher W. McKinney, Deputy City Manager / Director of Utilities, City of Escondido.
“Homelessness, like many complex problems, is best addressed when agencies and organizations work together on solutions, and this is a perfect example,” said City of Carlsbad Mayor Matt Hall. “With the County’s investment, the shelter created through our longstanding partnership with Catholic Charities will be able to serve even more people, including women and children for the very first time.”
“Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego is excited to be able to expand our shelter and case management beyond men to include women and women with children who are facing the same needs,” said Catholic Charities Chief Executive Officer Appaswamy “Vino” Pajanor. “This shelter will make an immediate difference to individuals and families experiencing homelessness not just by offering a place to sleep but offering the resources needed to build stability and improve their quality of life.”
“We appreciate the grant from the County to help fund South County’s first Bridge Shelter,” said Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas Salas. “We are dedicating the funds to provide critical infrastructure and support to individuals and families to help them on a path to permanent housing.”
“The City of San Diego is seeking every idea and pursuing every opportunity to move unsheltered residents off the streets and connect them to long-term housing,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said. “Part of our strategy is securing facilities with private rooms for families and vulnerable individuals, and I am grateful to the County for making funding available to help get these projects up and running as quickly as possible.”
In September, the first three cities and projects announced were as follows:
City of Vista – Safe Parking Program
- A 25 vehicle safe parking lot is scheduled to be opened by January of 2023. It will operate seven days a week and visitors will be provided with case management and housing navigation services along with onsite restrooms (ADA compliant), handwashing stations. It will also be a pet friendly site that focuses on individuals, families and people fleeing domestic violence.
City of San Diego – Safe Parking Program
- A 60 vehicle safe parking lot in the Rose Canyon area is scheduled to be open by March 2023. This site will have an onsite restroom, showers, laundry, food, access to support services and long-term housing options. The target populations for the site are families.
City of Oceanside – Homeless Navigation Center
- A 50 bed low barrier shelter will be open 24-hours a day and operated by the San Diego Rescue Mission with a scheduled opening date of 2023. This site will have trauma-informed healthcare care services, public benefits and connections to permanent supportive housing.
Chair Fletcher first announced the program during his State of the County, and in May during a Regional Taskforce on the Homeless intergovernmental roundtable meeting, he presented the program virtually to representatives from 14 of the 18 incorporated cities in attendance. The cities present at that time were: San Diego, Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Del Mar, El Cajon, Escondido, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, National City, Oceanside, San Marcos, Santee, Solana Beach, and Vista.
