Vision
By working creatively and collaboratively, the City of San Diego will build a client-centered homeless assistace system that aims to prevent homelessness, and that quickly creates a path to safe and affordable housing and services for people who experience homelessness in our community.
Guiding Principles
- System partners must rely on a set of principles to guide policy and funding decisions and build community cohesion.
- Be accountable.
- Develop creative and new housing options.
- Value the voices of people with lived experience.
- Improve service and options to people experiencing homelessness through evidence-based approaches.
- Make data-driven decisions and create transparency.
- Communicate and collaborate more effectively and frequently.
- Build capacity.
- Create positive momentum.
- Remove politics from decision-making about homelessness.
Recommended Actions
- Advance high impact solutions. Developing long-term housing takes time. Aggressive measures must be taken now, and the system needs to be flexible over time to meet changing needs and circumstances.
- Support strong leadership. Creation of a city-wide leadership council and project manager to keep progress on track.
- Invest in new housing and service options. Increase temporary crisis response solutions while also investing in permanent long-term units.
- Quickly address key issues. Address items needing immediate attention including adding behavioral health resources, outreach coordination, utilization of vouchers and appropriately staff entities implementing this plan.
Permanent Housing Needs
- 5,416 permanent housing opportunities needed over the next 10 years for individuals and families experiencing homelessness:
- New rehabilitated supportive housing
- Supportive housing leased in the private rental market
- Rapid rehousing rental assistance with services for one year
- Low-income housing rental assistance with services for three years
- Homelessness diversion assistance
- Estimated cost: Approximately $1.9 million over 10 years
- Potential funding sources could include:
- City bond measures to create funding for homelessness services and new supportive housing
- State homeless assistance funding
- Federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds, Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance dedicated to addressing homelessness, and public housing units
- Resources for services, including coordination with the County of San Diego
- City funds, such as Affordable Housing Fund, City General Fund, or Special fees
- Private philanthropy
Crisis Response Actions
- 350-500 new crisis response beds or services needed to meet the needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness and the estimated annual inflow into emergency shelters.
- Estimated cost: Approximately $2.2 million per 100 new beds in annual operating cost.
- Potential additional capital costs if new Sprung structures are needed for shelters.
- The plan includes five actions for meeting the crisis response need for single individuals and three actions for meeting the need for families.
