Even with El Nino in the forecast, San Diego won't be pitching a huge tent to provide shelter for downtown’s homeless this winter.
That's because the plan now is to continue moving more people into year-round housing. There's been quite a head start.
After years of hassling over money and locations for temporary winter shelters, the buck is stopping at Father Joe's Villages.
"We're not working with people just for a night, just for a season,” said Deacon Jim Vargas, Father Joe’s CEO. “We're moving them into permanent housing and off the streets permanently and changing their lives. And that's what it's all about."
The East Village landmark is a virtual haven: 350 beds and so-called wraparound services aimed at getting the displaced population treated, rehabilitated and ready for employment and long-term housing options.
When the worst of winter hits, the place will offer 250 extra beds, meals and outsourced arrangements for more.
But hundreds of others who remain unhoused — maybe thousands — still might wind up out in the cold.
While those who've managed to get into the system are grateful, they want the public to know how much is yet to be done, and that it’s worth paying for.
"You know, maybe they need to have a slumber party — I'm serious,” said Sandra Campbell, a retired executive-office administrator who’s fallen on hard times and landed at Father Joe’s Villages.
“We won't mind having a slumber party at the stadium one night, either,” Campbell added, with an ironic chuckle, in an interview Monday. “ But that might be a way to connect with the people who are homeless."
Early statistics in the first fiscal year of the new approach, covered by a $1.9 million city allocation, show roughly a doubling in the number of bed-nights and long-term housing transitions.
At the same time, the bottom line for taxpayers was a better-than-50 percent cost reduction compared to the old temporary tents — from $29.10 per “bed night” to $13.78.
