FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 21, 2022

CONTACT:
MayorPress@sandiego.gov

SAN DIEGO Building on his comprehensive strategy to address homelessness in San Diego and bring online more shelter beds for people experiencing homelessness, Mayor Todd Gloria today officially opened the Citys newest shelter, a temporary home that will serve up to 40 women with an emphasis on those with serious medical conditions who do not require or qualify for recuperative care but who need a safe place to recover.

The shelter, called Rachels Promise, is a collaborative effort between the Citys Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department (HSSD) and the San Diego Housing Commission. It is operated under contract with the Housing Commission by the Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego. The shelter will offer housing navigation assistance, meals, laundry facilities, showers, mail and telephone services and clothing.

Rachels Promise is our latest effort to bring online more shelter beds to get more people experiencing homelessness off the streets and into care. This is part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce homelessness, which is built around increasing street outreach, providing diverse shelter options, creating new pathways to behavioral health care and building affordable housing, said Mayor Todd Gloria. This work requires all hands on deck, and Im grateful that Catholic Charities has partnered with us in our effort to move vulnerable folks off the streets and put them on a path to housing and a better future.

Prior to the opening of these 40 new beds, the Mayor has increased shelter capacity by 25 percent since April 1, 2021. New shelters opened during this time include the 44-bed C-HRT Harm Reduction Shelter in Midway for people struggling with substance-abuse and other behavioral health challenges and the Palm Avenue Interim Shelter in the South Bay, which prioritizes seniors with access to housing resources.

Later this summer, the City and the County of San Diego expect to open the Midway District Bridge Shelter, which will provide roughly 120 beds, and the C-HRT Safe Haven, a 22-bed facility with private rooms for people with more acute behavioral health needs. The City also is making one of its three Safe Parking lots a 24-hour facility, and efforts are underway to site a pilot Safe Camping program for seniors 60 and older in the Downtown area.

Rachels Promise is yet another option the City is providing to help women off the streets and into shelter, said City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, who represents District 3, which includes Downtown. We will also help them find permanent housing and connect them with services. I applaud the Mayor for creating more solutions to help people with different needs get back on their feet.

For nearly four decades, Catholic Charities has steadily increased its services to assist people experiencing homelessness. In addition to the new womens shelter, the organization also operates the existing Rachels Womens Center and Night Shelter across the street from Rachels Promise, as well as programs such as the 100-bed La Posada shelter in Carlsbad, the 50-bed Our Lady of Guadalupe shelter in Calexico, the 24-bed House of Hope shelter in El Centro and soon a Homeless Day Center in El Centro that will serve 250 individuals daily.

Rachels Promise represents the best of faith-based and civic cooperation to assist the women of our society facing multiple complex barriers to housing a partnership of Catholic Charities and the City of San Diego that will provide shelter and love, said Robert W. McElroy, Cardinal-designate, Bishop of San Diego. As Catholic Charities, we must always remember that Jesus and His family were homeless when he entered the world. And from that fact should come an enduring commitment to all those who are unsheltered and dispossessed.

The opening of this program means more vulnerable women experiencing homelessness will have opportunities to move into shelter and receive the services they need. This is an important step on the journey to longer-term or permanent housing, said Jeff Davis, the Housing Commissions interim president and CEO. The San Diego Housing Commission thanks Mayor Gloria and the City Council for their continuing support of homelessness solutions like this shelter.

The new shelter aligns with the Citys Community Action Plan on Homelessness, which aims to create a more comprehensive system to reduce homelessness over 10 years. The plan calls out the need to add more than 500 crisis-response options like new shelter beds, transitional housing facilities and diversion programs.

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