1 week Ago By Danielle Dawson
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The city of San Diego's shelter for homeless young adults is set to double its capacity after moving into a new site, an underutilized office space in downtown.The new facility falls under the umbrella of the city's Safe STAY program for unhoused, transition-aged adults — or those between the ages of 18 and 24 — and will replace the existing 21 beds currently available across two interim sites that became available last year.The East Village shelter is able to accommodate 43 people in a semi-congregate setting, meaning beds are located within cubicles or in a shared room that offers more privacy than traditional shelter spaces.
Growing homeless encampment in a City Heights neighborhood is worrying residentsLike the program's interim shelters, the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) is contracting the San Diego LGBT Community Center, also known as The Center, to operate the facility in partnership with San Diego Youth Services and the YMCA of San Diego County.All three are leasing the space for the shelter from SDHC, which owns the building and had previously used it as office space up until the COVID-19 pandemic.City leaders viewed the vacancy in the building paired with its proximity to transit and schools, like San Diego Community College, as the ideal location for a long-term site to fill the gap left by the closure of Golden Hall, where the Safe STAY program was initially run.
"Transition-age youth is a huge need and a gap in our current system, so when we got the response with these three great partners working together, it seemed like the perfect opportunity," Jones said.San Diego leaders first previewed the new shelter nearly one year ago as the city's first permanent emergency housing center supporting homeless young adults in the LGBTQ+ community, made possible by a $1.5 million federal grant.
The funding had been requested by U.S. Rep.
Scott Peters (D-San Diego) as part of Congress' annual appropriations process for local projects.City housing commission approves 210-bed homeless shelter for women, familiesWhile the shelter will maintain an emphasis on LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness, Jones says it will serve as emergency housing and supportive services for all young adults in need, helping them to get on a path to long-term housing.Those currently staying in the Safe STAY program's existing beds will be moved to the new East Village site sometime within the next two weeks, according to SDHC.
It will then be opened up to those currently in the city's coordinated shelter intake program, which identifies and matches people who receive a referral for a shelter bed with one available.Jones said the goal is to keep the shelter open "as long as they need a place to stay," but noted there will still need to be conversations down the road about the city's ongoing commitment to keep it up and running.The Safe STAY program currently has an annual operating budget of $1.
9 million that will be put towards supporting the costs of operating the site, according to SDHC..
