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We pulled this post from the March 8 Morning Report. Click here to subscribe to our daily newsletter to stay up-to-date with stories our reporters are following.
The San Diego Housing Commission is exploring whether its East Village headquarters could double as a shelter for transition-aged youth.
Interim Housing Commission CEO Jeff Davis told the City Council on Tuesday that a pilot allowing agency staff to work from home has freed up first-floor office space and that the agency is assessing the viability of converting it into shelter space for youth ages 18 to 24.
“Several factors still need to be considered and finalized; however, we certainly know that time is of the essence, and we’re confident we will be able to bring something forward to you in the future for your consideration for approval,” Davis said.
Davis’s announcement comes a week after Mayor Todd Gloria’s office shared plans to stop sheltering unhoused people at Golden Hall by the end of the year. That means those now staying in the City Hall complex shelter will need to eventually relocate. There are now 46 beds for transition-aged youth at the facility.
A Gloria spokeswoman said SDHC’s headquarters is one of a few locations being evaluated to potentially accommodate transition-aged youth now staying at Golden Hall.
A Housing Commission spokesman wrote in an email after the Council meeting that the agency expects to propose a youth-focused “LGBTQ+ affirming shelter” and outreach program at its March 17 Commission meeting. He said the SDHC office space could be considered a potential long-term location for the new shelter program.
How about it house all the mentally ill, half naked, bedraggled people literally living on the same block as the building? There’s plenty of people who need to be off the street, both for their own and residents living nearby for their own safety. Downtown appears to be an open air asylum and it’s a disgrace.
Concur!