A deadline to apply for a nearly $4 million state grant to move homeless people in Encinitas into stable housing came and went, and Encinitas leaders chose not to apply.
The grant is part of a program called the Encampment Resolution Fund, which gives cities money to strategically move unsheltered homeless people into housing with wrap-around services.
The state has awarded four rounds of grants so far, including $11.4 million to Oceanside and Carlsbad in 2024. The two cities are working together to implement their project, but so far, it’s had positive results, as I previously reported.
At an Encinitas City Council meeting last week, most of the council members were uninterested in applying for the grant. Some said it would come with strings attached and that it followed a model the city fundamentally disagrees with: Housing First.
Housing First is the statewide model for providing services to homeless people. It prioritizes quickly moving people into permanent housing without any conditions like sobriety or program participation.
Critics of Housing First see substance abuse and mental illness as underlying issues for most homeless people and believe people should be required to undergo treatment before receiving any help with housing.
“Housing First in this state has failed miserably,” Councilmember Jim O’Hara said. “Just because someone wants to give us money doesn’t mean it aligns with what we’re doing.”
However: The latest round of funding is supposed to be more flexible than previous rounds that strictly followed the Housing First model.
In this round, cities can “offer unhoused residents the necessary supportive services to stabilize them first and does not require immediate placement into permanent housing,” according to a city staff report.
A representative of the San Diego Rescue Mission, which the city contracted with last year, also encouraged city leaders to apply for the grant saying the Rescue Mission has used this program before and experienced no issues with the state.
Still, city leaders weren’t on board, voting 4-1 (with Councilmember Joy Lyndes opposed) to direct city staff not to apply for the grant. It’s the latest instance of Encinitas leaders rejecting state initiatives and policies in favor of their own approach.
The majority of the City Council is vehemently opposed to the state’s housing laws, which are implemented by the California housing department called HCD. It’s the same agency that oversees these homelessness grants and, according to councilmembers, that makes the entire grant and its requirements untrustworthy.
Most Encinitas residents agree with city leaders: There were several public speakers who chimed in about the grant application, and almost all of them urged city leaders not to apply.
Speakers mentioned a lack of trust with the state’s housing department and Sacramento in general. One speaker warned that if the city does more to help unhoused people, it could just increase demand and worsen the problem. Another speaker suggested that Encinitas should focus on Encinitas.
It’s Been Successful in Other Cities
I’ve written twice before about the progress Oceanside and Carlsbad are seeing with their homeless populations by using this state grant.
Sofia Hughes, Oceanside’s management analyst, told me via email that the experiment has continued to have positive outcomes since I last wrote about it in January of this year.
“To date, we have permanently housed approximately 80 individuals and expect to house another 30 by Fall 2026,” she said. “As many of our clients in the first zone have now passed the one-year mark in their housing placements, we are happy to report a housing retention rate of over 90 percent.”
The project area is split into zones, or areas of work. City officials have completed three zones so far and are working on their fourth.
“We continue to have very high client acceptance of services, highlighting the need for programs like this to remain funded,” Hughes said.
So far, Oceanside and Carlsbad have spent roughly $5.9 million, or around 69 percent, of the $11.4 million grant.
Oceanside has submitted a new application for the next round of grant funding in partnership with the city of Vista, Hughes told me. The goal is to use a similar approach and see similar positive outcomes.
Related: Over the last several months, the Encinitas Council has shifted its response to homelessness to stricter and more enforceable.
City leaders have tightened public camping rules, contracted with a new homeless outreach organization (the San Diego Rescue Mission) and added an enforcement element to its Homeless Action Plan.
You can read more about Encinitas’ recent shift in homelessness policy in this Q&A I did with Mayor Bruce Ehlers.
Meet the Beat Is Next Week
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In Other News
- ICYMI: The federal government recently released a plan to help Oceanside with its disappearing beaches 73 years after it admitted fault for it. In the meantime, tired of waiting for the government’s help, Oceanside leaders took matters into their own hands. (Voice of San Diego)
- The criminal case against Encinitas Councilmember Luke Shaffer, who was initially charged with assaulting a resident during a parking dispute, was dismissed Wednesday after a judge ruled Shaffer completed a misdemeanor diversion program. (Union-Tribune) Related: Read about Shaffer’s case here.
- Many residents in Escondido are criticizing the potential construction of an indoor ice rink at Kit Carson Park, urging city leaders to save the beloved park and build the ice rink somewhere else. (Coast News)
