The City is taking another critical step in addressing homelessness with the addition of 263 new shelter beds, recently approved by the San Diego Housing Commission. These new beds plus the additional capacity at our safe sleeping sites allow for a successful move for all individuals from Golden Hall and The Paul Mirabile Center, which is transitioning detox services. 

The new shelter beds are funded by the City and will be operated by partners like Father Joe’s Villages, Veterans Village of San Diego, the San Diego Rescue Mission, and TURN Behavioral Health Services. They'll serve veterans, seniors, and other individuals in need.  

Our Safe Sleeping program has expanded to include 235 new spaces, bringing the total capacity to over 760. 

These efforts are part of our comprehensive approach to tackling homelessness, combining immediate shelter options with long-term strategies like affordable housing development and targeted diversion programs. 

We will continue providing safe, dignified shelter and the support necessary to help people transition off the streets and into permanent housing.  

New data from the Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFH) provides an encouraging update on our collective efforts to address homelessness in San Diego. 

The data shows we’re making progress in closing the gap between people becoming homeless and those finding housing. The numbers represent a 14% improvement in the ratio of the number of people moving off the streets and into homes compared to those experiencing homelessness for the first time. Between October 2023 and September 2024, 10 people found housing for every 14 who became homeless for the first time—an improvement from the previous year when that ratio was 10 to 16. 

Through focused homeless outreach efforts and our City’s pro-housing policies, we are moving people off the streets and preventing homelessness before it starts. The data reflects the hard work of frontline staff, service providers and regional partners committed to preventing and ending homelessness. 

However, the report also underscores the ongoing challenges driven by our region’s housing crisis. With a limited housing supply and rising rents, many San Diegans remain at risk of falling into homelessness. 

While this progress is encouraging and demonstrates the impact of building more housing and expanding homelessness programs to help those in need, it also underscores the fact that there’s still more work to do. We must continue getting people off the streets while simultaneously building more housing so every San Diegan can one day have a roof over their head at a price they can afford.

The City hosted a veterinary care clinic at our Safe Sleeping Program this week to ensure program participant’s furry companions are healthy, have plenty of food, leashes or collars, and, of course, toys! 

The event was organized by nonprofits partners including Project Street Vet providing onsite evaluations and vaccinations, SNAP (Spay Neuter Action Project) performing surgeries, and The Animal Pad ensuring pets had plenty of food, toys and other accessories.  

The City understands it is not just about providing services and resources for individuals experiencing homelessness, but also their pets.  

Our Safe Sleeping Program is a low-barrier sheltering option where individuals can start working to end their homelessness. The program expanded earlier this year.  

Project Street Vet co-founder and president Dr. Kwane Stewart, named CNN’s Hero of the Year for his work with those experiencing homelessness, said veterinary events like this are critical. 

“Over the years I’ve realized how vitally important these pets are to these folks – for a lot of reasons – for protection, for support, for love, for mental health,” said Stewart. “Whatever I can do to help keep them together – it just goes a long way.” 

SNAP provided no-cost spay and neutering services for all program participants’ pets. 

“We wanted to go somewhere we could make the most impact,” said Dorell Sackett, executive direction of SNAP. “We fix them (participants’ pets), we vaccinate them and we microchip them – they get their nails trimmed, they get all their medications.” 

Safe Sleeping operator Dreams for Change helped organized Tuesday’s event for program participants. We want to thank everyone who worked to make this a success and look forward to how we can continue meeting the needs of individuals receiving homelessness services. 

The season of giving is here, and there’s no better time to make a difference in our community! 

City-funded shelters and programs rely on volunteers to support their efforts year-round, including during the holidays. 

This Thanksgiving, volunteers joined service provider staff to deliver holiday meals and care packages to individuals on their journey to end homelessness. Our nonprofit partners are always in need of helping hands—whether it’s once a month or whenever you can, your time can have a meaningful impact. Consider joining this vital effort today! 

Here are just a few volunteer opportunities: 

PATH San Diego 

Alpha Project 

Serving Seniors 

Jewish Family Service of San Diego (Safe Parking Program) 

United Way 

The Invisible Man: My Life as a Homeless Man in America (Esquire)  

Thousands of San Diego students are homeless. Here’s how one young woman made sure you’d never notice her (San Diego Union-Tribune) 

From the Riverbed to a Real Bed: One San Diegan’s journey from Homelessness to Housing (inewsource) 

Partners Adjust to New Home After Getting Assistance from Encampment Clearing Grant (10 News) 

New Police Chief Bolsters Agency’s Homelessness Response (Voice of San Diego)