San Diego County Could Receive $10 Million to Address Homelessness

The County of San Diego Board of Supervisors voted in favor of allowing the Health and Human Services Agency to apply for and receive $10 million from state funds to help alleviate the continual increase of homelessness. Already, the County has demonstrated its willingness to help the homeless community, implementing an integrated approach to improve housing options and assist those with physical or behavioral issues.

“We’ve taken several steps over the last few years to address some of the root causes of homelessness, including increased funding for programs,” said Chairman Greg Cox. Programs such as Project One for All, Innovative Housing Trust Fund, and Whole Person Wellness have all been successful in providing much-needed aid to San Diego’s homeless community. 

However, the County is looking to further expand on attacking the problem by developing a more robust foundation of support for the homeless. The $10 million in funding will come for the California Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program grant. When combined with the funds from various local agencies, the County will have a total of $43.3 million to help the homeless through housing, healthcare, and other special needs. 

The money can be used for a variety of activities, including providing housing, rental assistance, workforce training, and other innovative solutions and services. The County Health and Human Services Agency has said that a portion of the funds will go towards homelessness prevention and intervention programs aimed at vulnerable populations such as foster youth and seniors. 

If the County is awarded the funds, it will receive $2 million for the fiscal year of 2019-20 with another $2 million in the following fiscal year. Over the course of five years, the County expects to receive $9,996,652 in funds.