The City of San Diego is taking significant strides to end homelessness.

Recently, the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) held a press conference at the Hotel Churchill, where Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced an initiative to help house the homeless in the city over the next three years.

This funding will facilitate the construction of private housing units, and it also includes 1,500 federal housing vouchers exclusively for the homeless. The housing units across the city will be used beginning Jan. 1, 2015.

“These vouchers will provide much needed rental assistance for low-income tenants with incomes below $33,000 for one person,” San Diego City Council President Todd Gloria said at the press conference.

One of the buildings to be renovated and repurposed for housing the homeless is the Hotel Churchill, the location of the press conference. This historic seven-story building will allot 56 units for veterans and 16 units for transitional age youth and formerly incarcerated individuals, totaling 72 affordable studios in all.

To highlight the significance of this event, consider these statistics: San Diego had the nation’s third highest homeless population in 2013, and, while rates declined over the past year, the numbers are still staggering. Just under half of the 8,506 identified homeless in San Diego County are unsheltered, meaning that they live in a “place not meant for human habitation,” according to a Regional Task Force on the Homeless report.

San Diego’s current homeless population ranks fifth in the nation, below only New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Seattle.

With the new plan in place, however, we can expect to see these numbers begin to decline. The funding will create a significant amount of affordable, reliable housing for the homeless, getting them off the streets and into a more stable lifestyle.

The San Diego Housing Commission deserves considerable credit for making this happen, and San Diegans should be proud of this organization’s efforts. With this, the SDHC becomes the first Housing Commission to operate housing units, and they’re putting their full focus into making permanent housing available for any homeless person who decides he/she is ready to get off the streets.

These changes represent a significant step in the right direction for the city of San Diego’s homeless problem, but it’s important to maintain the momentum gained here and to continue to support this mission.

Right now, though, tomorrow looks to be a brighter day for the homeless population thanks to the hard work and dedication of all those involved.

-Nancy Sasaki, Executive Director
Allaince Healthcare Foundation
NSasaki@AllianceHealthcareFoundation.com

 

 

 

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About Alliance Healthcare Foundation

Alliance Healthcare Foundation is a San Diego-based nonprofit which works with nonprofit, government and community agencies to advance health and wellness throughout the San Diego and Imperial Counties. AHF works to serve the most vulnerable – the poor, working poor, children and homeless by providing grants, advocacy and education to support its region.

To learn more about AHF visit:   AHF on Facebook, AHF on Linkedin, AHF on Google+, AHF on Youtube, AHF on Twitter

To learn more about our grantees visit here: AHF’s Grantee Page