Homelessness is top of mind for many people in the San Diego area. Among the population of people experiencing homelessness are those who served the country.
“I served the country, but after that, I didn’t get no resources,” formerly homeless veteran Victor Lorenzana said.
Around 200,000 veterans live in San Diego County, according to U.S. census data.
On Feb. 7, 2023, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted to create the "Leave No Veteran Homeless" initiative to help find veterans housing.
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A part of the program is partnering with landlords to help house veterans.
The program offers incentives to landlords, such as providing landlords a leasing bonus, which includes up to $2,500 for each unit newly listed, application expenses, security deposit assistance and a landlord assurance fund, which makes up to $5,000 available to reimburse landlords for loss of rent or damage.
Since July 2023, the program has assisted 949 veterans find housing.
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As the program continues, county employees are figuring out ways to house more veterans.
“We continue to meet and strategize and talk about what the needs are. We’ve identified for landlords in the greater regional geographic distribution area what are some of the areas that meet the needs of veterans,” Barbara Jimenez, San Diego County community operations officer, said.
The next update with how many veterans the program has helped will be provided at the end of August.
