New data from the Regional Task Force on Homelessness shows that last month, the number of people housed outpaced the number of people falling into homelessness. NBC7’s Jeanette Quezada explains what this means for San Diego.
For the first time in nearly three years, more San Diegans found housing than became homeless in November, marking a small but significant milestone in addressing the region's homelessness crisis, officials announced Friday.
In November, 894 people fell into homelessness and entered the system for the first time compared to 950 people who exited the system and were placed into housing, according to the Regional Task Force on Homelessness. The last time the number of people becoming homeless was less than those entering housing was in March 2022.
RTFH CEO Tamara Kohler offered caution optimism, but said the problem wasn't yet solved and more work was needed.
"The demand is still there, that hasn't changed," she said. "But we are housing more people and that's encouraging for a lot of reasons but mostly because we know housing solves homelessness.
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"We obviously want to see these trend lines continue in 2025, but I'll say this again: we need more housing across the board, and we need a dedicated funding source to help our most vulnerable friends, neighbors, seniors, veterans and families."
The data bears this out: Between Oct. 2023 and Sept. 2024, on average 10 people found housing for every 14 people who experienced homelessness for the first time. This is an improvement from the year prior, when that ratio was 10:16, but far from an ideal situation.
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The city of San Diego is navigating a budget crunch but is moving forward with plans to add 262 new homeless shelter beds before the New Year.
"These additions to our shelter system have ensured that no one impacted by the closure of Golden Hall or the changes at the Paul Mirabile Center will return to the streets," said Mayor Todd Gloria when the shelter plan was updated earlier this month. "Even as we navigate challenging budget constraints, we are continuing the work we're doing to address homelessness."
Around 650 beds are being taken out of inventory due to planned developments at Golden Hall, Father Joe's Villages' Paul Mirabile Center and Rachel's Promise Shelter, along with the scheduled closure of several temporary shelters.
The number of homeless in San Diego County increased by around 20% between 2022 and 2023, but a less dramatic increase in the city of around 4% was recorded in this year's count.
In October, the city added 230 tents at its Safe Sleeping sites with plans to continue to expand that program.
San Diego funds around 1,900 beds in addition to 760 sites in the Safe Sleeping Program and 220 in the Safe Parking Program.
This week, newly-elected City Council President Joe LaCava announced the formation of the Select Committee on Addressing Cost of Living, headed by former Council President Sean Elo-Rivera, which is tasked with "assessing which factors are driving the cost of living in the city, which factors the city can control or influence to lower the cost of living in San Diego, proposing legislative or policy changes," a council statement reads.
Housing supply and cost will likely be among the first items discussed by this new committee.
