City secures $3.2M to help unsheltered residents in corridor along interstate 15
SAN DIEGO – Working to move more San Diegans off the streets and into housing, the City of San Diego was recently awarded a $3.2 million grant from the State of California to held end people’s homelessness in a corridor along Interstate 15 in Council District 9.
San Diego was one of eleven communities across the state to be awarded a portion of $81 million in the latest round of Encampment Resolution Funding (ERF). San Diego received $2.45 million in ERF grant funds in a previous round in 2022.
“Every single day, we are working to get people out of unsafe tent encampments, connected to services and on a path to permanent housing,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said. “This state funding builds on our ongoing efforts and is helping people across California get out of encampments and into homes.”
The ERF program is a competitive grant that aims to assist local jurisdictions in ensuring the safety and wellness of people experiencing homelessness in encampments; resolve critical encampment concerns and transition individuals into safe and stable housing; and encourage a data-informed, coordinated approach.
As part of the grant application process, the City of San Diego’s Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department and Council District 9 identified an area along the Interstate 15 corridor from Adams Avenue south to Thorn Street with a heavy concentration of encampments. The city seeks to serve approximately 90 individuals throughout the entire term of the grant and connect an estimated 60 individuals to permanent or long-term housing.
“We must take every opportunity and use every tool available to address our homelessness crisis. This funding will help our unsheltered neighbors find long-term housing and give District 9 residents peace of mind knowing that people of a nearby encampment will be housed,” said Council President Sean Elo-Rivera. “My office will continue to work with the Mayor, HSSD and other partners in the community to identify more opportunities that will help us achieve our goal of ending homelessness.”
The grant-related outreach and housing efforts will be made in partnership with the California Department of Transportation, which is responsible for addressing encampments along state roadways. Outreach teams will provide targeted solutions to meet each individual’s unique needs for housing, including housing stability services, landlord engagement, deposit assistance, rental subsidies and additional supportive services for basic needs and healthcare resources.
The ERF grant efforts in East Village kicked off in March 2023 focusing on approximately 50 individuals living in encampments in an area surrounding the Old Central Library downtown. So far, teams have connected 13 individuals to housing, moved 9 into transitional living, and enrolled 3 individuals into the Safe Sleeping Program.
Once the latest allotment of funds has been accepted by City Council, the city’s Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department will work with stakeholders to develop a plan to begin addressing encampments in the designated area.
(City of San Diego Release) n
