San Diego Housing Commission
Mission Statement
The San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) fosters social and economic stability for vulnerable populations in the City of San Diego through quality, affordable housing; opportunities for financial self-reliance; and homelessness solutions.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement
We’re about people. At SDHC, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access are embedded in our values, mission, and culture. We make an intentional effort to provide equitable access to our programs and services and foster a diverse and inclusive workplace and community. Diversity and inclusion are catalysts for meaningful change. We encourage and welcome diverse approaches and points of view from employees, customers and our community as we continuously improve our programs, projects and policies.
Moving to Work (MTW) Designation
SDHC is one of only 39 original MTW agencies out of approximately 3,200 public housing authorities nationwide. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced the addition of 100 MTW agencies. The MTW designation provides SDHC the ability, subject to HUD’s approval, to implement a variety of innovative new approaches to provide housing assistance and other services to families with low income in the City of San Diego.
Fiscal Year 2024 (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024)
SDHC’s Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report is presented in a multimedia, web-based format, accessible on SDHC’s website, www.sdhc.org.
This report, which includes embedded videos, was produced in-house by SDHC’s Communications and Government Relations Division.
Message from the President and CEO
Putting people first and acting with innovation, compassion and expedience are qualities the team at the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) values and puts into practice daily. This was evident across our programs throughout Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, as you will see in our FY 2024 multimedia Annual Report.
Our focus remains on the people we serve. Many of them shared their stories with us in our Annual Report.
They include Sukie, Denise and Damon, who with assistance from SDHC began to recover from catastrophic floods in January 2024 that displaced hundreds of City of San Diego families from their homes. A special section of our Annual Report highlights our unanticipated flood-response efforts.
Additionally, more than 19,000 households paid their rent during FY 2024 with ongoing assistance from SDHC. They include Umi and her family. Umi also completed a program we launched in FY 2024 through our SDHC Achievement Academy to provide Certified Medical Assistant training for young adults.
Leslie, Emily, and Teretha, as well as Phillip and his family, all experienced homelessness but have moved into rental homes they can afford through SDHC initiatives that are featured in the Homelessness Solutions section of our report.
Our collaborations to create affordable housing also made it possible this year for Earl, Karima, Maria, Marian, Carol and many others to afford their rental homes. And we continued to assist families with low income to become homeowners through our first-time homebuyer programs.
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and access are key components of all our initiatives. So this year, we also developed a new policy statement to reinforce our commitment to these principles. And to expand access to our Annual Report, we are utilizing a web-based format this year for the first time, which allows readers to use their web browser to translate the report’s content into the language of their choice. The report is also compatible with our website’s accessibility tool, which assists people with disabilities.
We know that housing assistance for families struggling economically is most effective when many organizations serving the community work together. We are grateful for the community-based organizations, affordable housing developers, property owners and landlords, service providers, and government agencies that collaborate with us to achieve positive impacts for City of San Diego families.
We also thank our elected leaders, including Mayor Todd Gloria, City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera and all San Diego City Councilmembers, for the leadership, direction and support they provide. SDHC Board of Commissioners Chair Eugene “Mitch” Mitchell and our entire Board also provide invaluable insight, guidance and engagement for our efforts.
As I near the completion of my first year as SDHC’s President and CEO, I am proud of our staff for their continuing excellence and for approaching their work with dedication, empathy, professionalism and a solutions-oriented mindset.
Our FY 2024 Annual Report reminds us of what we can accomplish collaboratively, which provides a foundation to build on to continue to have a positive impact on our community and help to make San Diego a diverse, vibrant and thriving city for people to call home.
As we look to the year ahead, I am excited to collaborate with our Board, City Council and community partners as we develop our next five-year strategic plan to guide us in our ongoing mission.
Sincerely,
Lisa Jones
President and CEO
San Diego Housing Commission
We know that housing assistance for families struggling economically is most effective when many organizations serving the community work together. We are grateful for the community-based organizations, affordable housing developers, property owners and landlords, service providers, and government agencies that collaborate with us to achieve positive impacts for City of San Diego families."
SDHC Impact
Flood Recovery
Emergency Response
313
Households Placed in Emergency Lodging
588
Adults
299
Children
184
Pets
Counts of adults, children and pets were not available for some participating households.
Flood Recovery Program for Displaced Residents
As of October 9, 2024
311
Families Supported with Financial Assistance
$4.3 Million
Amount Disbursed to Assist Eligible Families
$461,281
Projected Rental Assistance Obligations Through March 2025
Rental Assistance
19,026
Rental Assistance Households
(Total households that received SDHC rental assistance at any point during the fiscal year. This includes 1,123 Turnover Housing Vouchers and 47 Short-Term Transitional housing vouchers.)
$283 Million
SDHC Rental Payments Made to Landlords
5,793
SDHC Achievement Academy Participants
4,874
Participating Landlords
Homelessness Solutions
HOUSING FIRST – SAN DIEGO
799
Housing Solutions Created through HOUSING FIRST – SAN DIEGO
FY 2024 (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024)
Shelters and Services
16,649
Households Served by City Homelessness Shelters and Services Programs
5,864
Households Housed through City Homelessness Shelters and Services Programs
Housing Instability Prevention Program
307
Households Enrolled Since September 2022
Seniors Safe at Home
47
Households Enrolled Since September 2023
Eviction Prevention Program
199
Eligible Tenants Receiving Full Legal Assistance
1,623
Eligible Tenants Receiving Limited Legal Assistance
Affordable Housing
716
Affordable Housing Units Completed
1,928
Affordable Housing Units Pending Completion
56
First-Time Homebuyers Assisted by SDHC-Administered Programs
4,182
Affordable Units Owned/Managed by SDHC, Including SDHC’s Nonprofit Affiliate, HDP
95.5%
Average Occupancy Rate
Flood Recovery
Emergency Response
On January 22, 2024, a record-breaking rainstorm and ensuing flooding upended the lives of hundreds of San Diegans who were displaced from their homes. Many of them were households with low income in historically underserved communities. The City of San Diego, County of San Diego and State of California declared states of emergency, and the U.S. government issued a major disaster declaration due to the floods.
In the aftermath of the storm and flooding, the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) established an incident command structure and implemented programs to provide emergency hotel placements for City of San Diego households. This provided a bridge of assistance until County of San Diego emergency resources became available. SDHC began placing displaced households into hotels on January 27 and formally launched SDHC’s emergency lodging program on February 1.
SDHC’s emergency storm response efforts included:
Creating a web page and flyers in English and Spanish to provide information about available assistance and how to access it.
Reaching out to households in affordable housing properties SDHC owns or manages and in SDHC’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance program, as well as their landlords.
Engaging community-based organizations and City Council offices to support outreach in impacted communities.
Working on-site at local assistance centers to conduct housing assessments of impacted families.
Securing hotel rooms for displaced families that ensured proximity to family needs.
Equipping a former hotel on Midway Drive, for which SDHC had completed its purchase just four days after the storm, to serve as short-term, emergency lodging.
The County of San Diego launched its Emergency Temporary Lodging Program (ETLP) on February 12, 2024. This initiative transitioned residents who had been housed by SDHC, the National City Housing Authority, the County Office of Education, and community-based organizations (CBOs), as well as those identified through County outreach and self-referrals, into County-managed temporary lodging. SDHC’s emergency lodging efforts concluded in March 2024.
Immediate Lodging after Devastating Floods
When a devastating storm flooded their home and uprooted their lives, Sukie and her daughter received temporary lodging and support from SDHC as they put their lives back together.
“We could see cars floating, and the water just kept coming,” Sukie said. “The water was still rising on the block. So we just left. There was no reason for us to stay. We went to the neighbor’s sister’s house for about three hours, … and then they had said we could come back. So we came back. We were able to go to our place, and it looked like a war zone.”
Sukie, an instructor at a vocational school, and her daughter, Jasmine, are among the more than 300 City of San Diego households displaced by the January 22, 2024, storm and flooding who received emergency short-term lodging assistance from SDHC.
Sukie was in class when Jasmine called her about the flooding at home. By the time she reached her neighborhood, the extent of the damage quickly became clear, with muddy water rushing under the door and up to her eye level in parts of the granny flat where they lived together.
“(I had) so many things going through my mind, knowing that I can’t return because the property owner did let me know it was an absolute total loss,” she said. “They’re gonna demolish the place that we were living in. So, and that’s OK. Like I said, we’re, my daughter was OK. They got out OK. And that’s when we were able to start seeking for help.”
Sukie said she is grateful for the understanding, patience and support SDHC staff provided to her as they connected with her at the City of San Diego Local Assistance Center in the storm’s aftermath and assisted her to obtain temporary lodging at one of the hotel rooms SDHC procured to house flood-impacted families.
“We were able to get lodging that day. It was like immediate. So, we didn’t have to worry about where we’re going to sleep. We could go there immediately. So that was like a rest off my shoulder,” she said.
Sukie and others SDHC assisted subsequently transitioned to the County of San Diego Emergency Temporary Lodging Program for flood-impacted households.
We didn’t have to worry about where we’re going to sleep."
Flood Recovery Program for Displaced Residents
Recovery from the catastrophic floods in January 2024 that displaced many San Diego families from their homes is a long process that continued throughout Fiscal Year 2024 and into Fiscal Year 2025.
On April 30, 2024, the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors extended the County’s Emergency Temporary Lodging Program (ETLP) to continue to provide temporary lodging through June 21, 2024, and allocated $4.2 million to SDHC, with which SDHC created the Flood Recovery Program for Displaced Residents to further assist eligible City of San Diego residents who had been in the County’s ETLP. With its approval of the City of San Diego’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget on June 11, 2024, the San Diego City Council allocated $3 million to assist flood-impacted residents through SDHC’s Flood Recovery Program.
On May 29, 2024, SDHC launched the Flood Recovery Program for Displaced Residents. Families from the City of San Diego who were eligible for and enrolled in the County’s ETLP as of May 23, 2024, could receive assistance through at least one of the components of this program:
- Family Financial Assistance. Families had a one-time choice to select either short-term rental assistance to move into housing or Direct Financial Assistance.
- Short-Term Rental Assistance: Up to six months of rent or mortgage subsidy, application fees, security deposit, storage costs, hotel expenses, moving costs, and a Landlord Leasing Bonus of $1,500 for renting to an eligible family.
- Direct Financial Assistance: A lump-sum payment of up to $15,100 to stabilize and address a family’s unique and unmet housing needs related to the disaster.
- Housing Search Assistance. This assistance included a housing search class and referrals to available homes for rent based on the family size and needs.
- Housing Restoration Assistance. Through a contract with SDHC, the Harvey Family Foundation assessed flood damage at homes in the City of San Diego and contracted for labor and materials to complete necessary repairs to restore the home and make it habitable for owners to resume occupancy or landlords to rent the unit to the original displaced family or another eligible displaced family.
During the County’s operation of its ETLP, the County verified that families eligible for and participating in ETLP had been displaced from their homes by the January floods. The County identified 359 City of San Diego families eligible for and enrolled in the County’s ETLP as of May 23, 2024, that would be eligible for assistance from SDHC. SDHC conducted extensive outreach to those 359 families and accepted applications for assistance through August 31, 2024.
359*
City of San Diego Families Eligible for Flood Recovery Program
*The County of San Diego approved eligibility for three additional families before June 21, 2024.
327
Unduplicated Applications Identified as Eligible for Family Financial Assistance
32
Families That did not Apply for Financial Assistance
311
Families Supported with Financial Assistance
Families may receive more than one type of financial assistance.
121
Families are Receiving Continuing Housing Assistance Payments (Rent Subsidy)
130
Families Have Been Paid Hotel Expenses or Moving Costs
124
Families Have Been Paid Landlord Leasing Incentive or Security Deposit (Paid to the Landlord)
184
Families Have Been Paid a Lump Sum of Assistance
Data as of October 9, 2024.
Additional data about the Flood Recovery Program for Displaced Residents are available in the Appendix.
Relief for a Couple Displaced by Floods
Denise and Damon are still catching their breath and settling into a new apartment they secured with help from SDHC after the devastating January 22, 2024, floods forced them out of their previous Lincoln Park rental home.
“We lost everything,” Denise said. “The only thing we had left was really the clothes that we had on our back and a few paperwork that was salvaged, but all of our furniture, our clothes, all our belongings and the house was destroyed. The rain came through the roof.”
It was far from what the couple—who met in elementary school—expected when they moved back to California from Tennessee in August 2023. They returned after years of moving around to support their daughter’s career in the Army.
They were renting a room with Damon’s family, and the day before the storm hit, they had just returned home from an out-of-state funeral for Denise’s father.
“It was a bad day,” Damon said. “I was actually out and about, and then (I) was told it was a bad storm coming. And before you knew it, it was flooded. Like it was just coming rain. I made it home to see that our room that we were renting was just, I mean, sopping wet. It was up maybe 2-3 inches high.”
They sought relief at a Red Cross emergency shelter at nearby Lincoln High School, where they received many vital services, including temporary lodging at one of the hotel rooms SDHC procured to assist flood-impacted families.
In June, SDHC’s Flood Recovery Program for Displaced Residents helped Denise and Damon find and move into a new apartment in the Grant Hill area. The program provided funds for a security deposit and short-term rental assistance and connected Denise to the SDHC Achievement Academy, which offers a variety of workforce readiness and personal financial education programs.
“They gave us the keys, and it was just like a sigh of relief,” Denise said. “Just having somewhere where, you know, you have somewhere to sleep at night.”
Through the Flood Recovery Program, they’ve received furniture and other necessities, such as cookware and bathroom supplies, to make their apartment feel more like home.
“I’m so thankful for where we are right now,” Damon said. “I’m happy with what we’ve got. I’m gonna just continue to do everything that I can do to make it better and more comfortable.”
They gave us the keys, and it was just like a sigh of relief.”