SAN DIEGO – Mayor Todd Gloria announced that the City of San Diego has used state grant funding to address longstanding homeless encampments in a heavily impacted part of East Village.
“Thanks to these additional resources provided by Governor Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature, we have been able to clear these unsafe and unsanitary encampments in Downtown, and also put those who were living in them on a path to housing,” Mayor Todd Gloria said. “San Diego is grateful for the leadership and partnership with the State to continue addressing homelessness in our communities.”
“San Diego is putting state dollars to work by moving people off our streets and into housing,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. “California has removed over 5,600 encampments and is providing funding to local communities to address the needs of individuals living in these areas. It’s time for more local governments to utilize these funds to tackle homelessness throughout the state.”
In October 2022, the City’s Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department (HSSD) was awarded $2.45 million from the California Interagency Council on Homelessness’ Encampment Resolution Funding Grant Program for HSSD’s proposed E Street Encampment Project.
The E Street project focused on a string of encampments along the blocks surrounding the U.S. Post office and old Downtown Central Library, from Broadway to F Street and Seventh to 10th Avenues in East Village. The project ultimately identified a consistent unsheltered community of 76 people experiencing homelessness consistently encamped in this area. The goal of the program was to put each person on a path to long-term housing.
HSSD contracted with nonprofit organizations NAMI San Diego and Healthcare in Action to conduct intensive outreach efforts, cultivate relationships with unsheltered residents in the area and offer services such as case management, health education, public benefits, mental health and substance abuse treatment, primary care referrals and access to hygiene kits, transportation and basic essentials.
Outreach workers identified and worked with 126 people encamped in the target area during the course of the program, successfully connecting 19 to housing and placing 71 into shelter or the City’s Safe Sleeping program, where case workers are helping them access housing. Two of those in encampments were reconnected with family through the Downtown San Diego Partnership’s Family Reunification Program, two entered institutional settings, and three people carried out plans to move out of San Diego.
“There are fewer encampments Downtown today because this state program helps move people into the new safe sleeping sites, shelter beds and housing created by the Mayor and City Council,” said City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, who represents Downtown. “I’m pleased to hear many residents say they see significant improvement Downtown, and there will be even more progress in the coming year.”
“Addressing the homelessness crisis with person-centered solutions and advocacy remains the top priority for the Downtown San Diego Partnership and our mission of advancing the economic prosperity and cultural vitality of our urban neighborhoods,” said Betsy Brennan, President and CEO of the Downtown San Diego Partnership. “The most recent monthly count conducted by the Downtown Partnership found that in November 2023, there were the lowest number of people living unsheltered on our streets and sidewalks since November of 2021. With investments such as the Encampment Resolution Funding grant and its efforts to connect unhoused individuals with permanent housing and assist business and property owners with the resources to continue to make Downtown a welcoming and safe community, we hope to continue to see those numbers decline.”
The East Village project is the first of three in the city of San Diego to be created thanks to the state Encampment Resolution Funding (ERF) Grant Program.
On Dec. 12, the City Council authorized HSSD to spend $3.16 million awarded from the ERF program to address encampments along the Interstate 15 corridor from Adams Avenue south to Thorn Street in Normal Heights and City Heights. In partnership with Caltrans, HSSD anticipates serving an estimated 90 people in this encampment and estimates transitioning 30 to interim shelters and connecting 60 to permanent or long-term housing.
In addition, the City of San Diego partnered with the County of San Diego, City of Santee and Caltrans to win a $17 million ERF grant awarded to address encampments along the San Diego River. The overall project is anticipated to serve an estimated 250 people, with 168 people expected to be connected to permanent or other form of long-term housing.
Since the beginning of his administration, Mayor Gloria has made addressing homelessness the City’s top priority. To date, he has expanded street outreach, increased shelter capacity by roughly 70 percent, expanded the Safe Parking Program, launched the Safe Sleeping Program, championed state-level behavioral health interventions like CARE Court and conservatorship reform and secured City Council approval of the Unsafe Camping Ordinance.
(City of San Diego Release)
