North County Report: Slow Start to Clear Encampment

In April of last year, we learned two North County cities, Oceanside and Carlsbad, received a grant to move homeless people camped along state Route 78 and the Buena Vista Creek into shelter and permanent housing. 

Nine months later, the cities haven’t yet started implementing the project. According to Oceanside officials, the program is still in the planning phase and it’s unclear when service providers and outreach workers will start putting boots on the ground. 

The money is part of a series of grants the state is handing out through a program called the Encampment Resolution Fund, first announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021. I previously reported that the funds come with strings attached: Cities are required to provide reports to the state to track spending and outcomes. 

Oceanside and Carlsbad’s Joint Grant  

In April 2024, Oceanside and Carlsbad announced they had received a joint grant for $11.4 million to move up to 200 homeless people camped along State Route 78 and the Buena Vista Creek into shelter and permanent housing over three years. The grant will be used to clear encampments along the nearly 4-mile shared border between the cities. 

The two cities have contracted with four homeless service providers in Oceanside and Carlsbad (Interfaith Community Services, Community Resource Center, Catholic Charities’ La Posada de Guadalupe homeless shelter in Carlsbad and Whole Person Care Clinic) using portions of the funding. The providers will provide wrap-around services to homeless people camped in the area including housing navigation, medical care, case management, substance abuse treatment, mental health services and more.  

How it’s going: Salvador Roman, Oceanside’s senior management analyst who spearheaded the proposal for the grant, told Voice of San Diego that they are still in the preparation and planning phase. 

That means they haven’t had boots on the ground just yet.  

Roman told Voice that he doesn’t know exactly when they’ll start implementing the program, but the partnering service providers are working on recruiting staff members specifically for the project using portions of the funding. 

“Once all the providers have staffed up, then we can move into implementation,” Roman said. “So, essentially, we’re hoping to start as soon as possible.” 

The goal, he said, is to move every person in that Buena Creek encampment into permanent housing. 

“The overall strategy for this is to be focused on permanent housing solutions for all the residents in the encampment, and I think that’s also part of the reason why we are taking so much time with preparation,” Roman said. “Permanent solutions or long-term solutions are very hard to come by. So, being able to identify the resources to allocate and leverage with the funding is what we’ve been working on.” 

What that will look like: City officials are hoping the project can serve as a model for how to address other encampments in Oceanside and beyond. 

Service providers are hiring staff to focus the entire scope of their work on this encampment area, said Oceanside Management Analyst Sarah Hughes.  

“The difference with this program is that it has a lot of attention on the outreach component.  And the outreach providers are spending a lot of time in the encampment with the residents to build trust and to build rapport before services are even offered,” Hughes said. “And so, residents will have time and multiple opportunities to make the decision of whether they want to participate.” 

Something to note: At the end of the three years, Roman said, the overall goal is to deliver a 100 percent cleared encampment, which means people who don’t accept shelter or housing solutions will be moved from the encampment. 

However, police will not be giving out any citations in that encampment area during the process, Roman said. 

Around Town: Carlsbad Has Even More Encampment Funding 

The city of Carlsbad has also received two other encampment grants from the state’s Encampment Resolution Fund – one to help people living on the street and another to help people living in their vehicles. 

In 2023, Carlsbad received $2.4 million over three years from the state to serve homeless people camped in the Village area around City Hall, Pine Park and Holiday Park.  

So far in its second year, the program has served 142 unduplicated people, according to Tuesday’s city staff report. It has helped 24 people enter temporary shelter and 13 people find permanent housing, and “a number of people remain engaged with social workers,” according to the report.  

Carlsbad received a third round of state funds in October of last year, which gives the city $3 million over three years to provide services and housing navigation support for people living in their vehicles. 

The City Council accepted the grant at Tuesday’s City Council meeting and approved contracts with Interfaith Community Services and Community Resource Center to help with the program. 

City officials said at the meeting that they will use the funds to create a vehicular homeless outreach program in Carlsbad’s Downtown Village, Barrio and beach areas, providing outreach social workers, peer support, employment and benefits assistance, substance abuse and mental health support and housing navigation. 

In Other News 

• ICYMI: At Poway’s contentious City Council meeting last week, City Attorney Alan Fenstermacher accused Councilmember Tony Blain of harassment, intimidation, threats and bullying. (Voice of San Diego) 
• A controversial all-affordable, 199-unit housing proposal in Oceanside called Olive Park received unanimous approval from Oceanside’s Planning Commission on Monday despite opposition from residents. (Union-Tribune) 
• San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond officially announced his run for Congress. He’s hoping to unseat Mike Levin for the 49th Congressional Seat in 2026. 
• The city of Del Mar and the Del Mar Fairgrounds are at odds over plans to replace the San Dieguito Rail Bridge in 2026. The city of Del Mar wants the project postponed, but Fairgrounds officials say delaying is not an option. (KPBS)