Facing the loss of more than 600 shelter beds by the end of the year, City of San Diego officials on Monday announced 363 beds will be added to the shelter system.
The news came as the city faces a looming deadline to act: 264 beds at Golden Hall will be taken offline by the end of the year, closing after the shelter suffered extensive winter storm damage and subsequently lost its fire permit, as well as 350 at Father Joe’s Paul Mirabile Center, which is transitioning to a private detox and sober living facility.
City leaders on Monday said that, starting Dec. 1, 165 beds will be made available at Veterans Village of San Diego. Those beds became available last month after the facility lost the license for its state-funded rehab program. Father Joe’s Villages will operate 130 beds for single adult men and seniors 55 and up, while Veterans Village of San Diego will operate 35 beds for veterans.
Another 105 beds will be added at an unspecified motel site in an agreement that the city said hadn’t been finalized yet. An additional 56 beds will come online at the county’s Alcohol Use Disorder Shelter, according to the city, as well as another 37 beds at the San Diego Rescue Mission’s facility in National City.
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“The causes of homelessness are many and complex, and so are the solutions that we must employ,” Mayor Todd Gloria said at a news conference announcing the new beds. “Among the needs that we've identified through talking with those with lived experience were detox beds, sobering facilities for those recovering from or wanting to recover from substance use disorders, beds for veterans and shelter for our seniors.”
“This need for seniors and veterans is absolutely dire,” said advocate Rachel Hayes. “I know it's not enough, but it's a start. It's a start in the right direction and the right steps.”
Hayes experienced homelessness for years and said a facility like Veterans Village offers more privacy than other congregant settings, like the controversial 1,000-bed shelter proposal at Kettner and Vine.
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“A thousand people in one place is a ticking time bomb,” Hayes said.
The city is still negotiating with the owner of the property at Kettner and Vine, a spokesperson said.
City officials also announced Monday the San Diego Housing Commission will launch a diversion initiative on Nov. 1, with financial assistance and shared housing strategies, among other efforts, aimed at connecting shelter residents with longer-term housing more quickly.
Also stemming the impact of the loss of those hundreds of shelter beds, the city council previously approved an expansion of its two safe sleeping sites at O Lot in Balboa Park and the other at 20th and B, an addition of 235 total spaces in both location.
For people like Julie Porter, a shelter bed with dignity can be a lifeboat in an ocean of pain.
Porter was homeless from 2009-17 after she and her ex-husband divorced and subsequently lost their home.
“I was a stay-at-home mom prior, and I spent my earning and learning years being a stay-at-home parent,” Porter said. “Losing everything, it was – it was devastating. I fought to survive.”
Porter said that, as a senior with a disability, she would have wanted a shelter option like those that will soon be offered at Veterans Village.
“Don't think it can't happen to you,” Porter said. “If it does, this is perfect here at Veterans Village, what they're doing, and hopefully it will house some people that are very much in need and get them off the street.”
