Opinion |

San Diego homeless programs face financial, accountability pressures

Despite the need to close a significant financial shortfall, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said his budget will increase spending on homeless programs.

It doesn’t feel that way at the San Diego Housing Commission, which oversees the region’s low-income housing programs and administers several of the city’s homeless services and shelters.

During an April 12 briefing, the commission board was told the agency’s funding from the proposed budget would be reduced by more than $20 million, from $48 million in the current fiscal year to $27.9 million in the next one — about a 42 percent cut. Commission staff said $52 million was needed to maintain its existing level of services.

In addition to the impact on shelter operations, commissioners were particularly concerned about the squeeze on rental subsidy programs that preemptively help keep many low-income people from falling into homelessness, and the potential for reduced food service for homeless people.

Homeless programs in San Diego and across California aren’t just under the gun because of recent budgetary concerns, however. Spending to combat homelessness has increased dramatically over the years, but the number of unhoused people continues to grow.

The mayor unveiled the 2024-25 budget shortly after the release of a state audit that was harshly critical of homeless services statewide for failing to properly account for tens of billions of dollars spent or evaluating whether the programs are effective.

San Diego and San Jose were the subject of separate, detailed audits that found both cities lacking on both measures.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, again expressing frustration over the lack of progress on homelessness, on Thursday launched an initiative to increase oversight of cities and counties that receive state funds — and threatened to withhold money if they don’t comply. The governor also announced grants totaling nearly $200 million for cities and counties to move homeless people from unauthorized encampments into housing.

Meanwhile, last week the San Diego Regional Task Force on Homelessness reported that March was the 24th consecutive month the number of homeless residents connected to housing was outpaced by the number of people who fell into homelessness for the first time.

Much of the Gloria budget’s stated $26.6 million increase in spending on homelessness would go toward two new “transformative projects,” according to the mayor’s office. One is a proposed 1,000-bed shelter — which would be the city’s largest ever — at Kettner Boulevard and Vine Street and the other is a 200-space safe parking lot where people can sleep in their vehicles at the Navy’s shuttered H Barracks near San Diego International Airport.

Neither proposal is a done deal. Questions have been raised about the cost, length of lease and the lack of details negotiated by Gloria for the now-empty warehouse he aims to transform into an all-service shelter. The City Council has scheduled a closed session for Monday to discuss the proposal.

Meanwhile, many Point Loma residents who rallied to oppose a large tent shelter that initially was proposed for the H Barracks site aren’t sold on the scaled-back safe-parking plan.

The mayor’s office said it is seeking $15 million from the Housing Commission reserves as a one-time move to help balance the overall city budget, noting that many departments are facing cuts.

“With respect to the $15 million request, (Housing Commission) has a considerable investment portfolio and cash from which to draw,” Rachel Laing, Gloria’s director of communications, told CBS 8.

The commission said the reduction is more than $15 million and that it doesn’t have those kinds of available reserves.

Rising rents and housing costs mean fewer people would receive subsidies, or amounts would be lower, even if spending is maintained at current levels, let alone reduced, according to the Housing Commission. Experts widely agree rental subsidies are one of the most effective ways to prevent individuals falling into homelessness. Once people become homeless, costs tend to escalate.

This isn’t to say shelters could simply be replaced by rental assistance. For one thing, there may not be enough suitable housing units even if the rental assistance money was there. For another, addressing homelessness requires a variety of services and shelter options. But the key to a long-lasting solution, most agree, is to provide more permanent housing. That’s difficult in high-cost cities like San Diego.

The Housing Commission staff painted a dire picture of potential impacts of the mayor’s budget. They told commissioners that outreach services could be cut, along with staffing at shelters. That could mean shelters might have difficulty accepting new people. As it currently stands, shelter space is short and people requesting beds are regularly turned away.

Commission Vice Chair Ryan Clumpner raised the prospect of paying for shelters that “can’t functionally operate.”

The potential of cutting lunch service at some shelters drew an emotional response from Mitch Mitchell, the commission chair.

“Hunger is one of those things I just can’t accept,” he said.

Mitchell said he planned to meet with officials from food banks, other nonprofits and businesses that contributed money and resources to provide food and shelter for people flooded out of their homes during January’s torrential rains across the San Diego region.

“We really need them to lean in,” Mitchell said.

Whether by the administration’s design or not, that could head in the direction suggested not long ago by Eric Dargan, the city’s chief operating officer.

Dargan told the Union-Tribune’s Blake Nelson that he wants to see homeless programs largely turned over to nonprofit and philanthropic organizations and individuals.

“My plan is to eliminate my homeless department altogether,” he said, stressing that such a transition could only be possible if the community steps up.

That startled many people inside and out of City Hall, considering Gloria’s creation of that department was hailed as a major step by the administration to address homelessness.

Laing later told the Union-Tribune that Dargan’s comment “expressed the long-term aspiration of reaching a time when homelessness is a minor challenge requiring few public resources.”

She also said the city will be “continuing to work to address homelessness — and maintaining a city department and supporting resources — for the foreseeable future.”

Gloria, like other mayors, has ramped up efforts to tap philanthropists and other outside resources to help with homeless services.

What remains to be seen is whether that effort is intended to supplement or replace government funding.

What they said

Manu Raju (@mkraju) of CNN.

“As hardliners rail against Speaker Johnson’s plans, GOP Dan Crenshaw told me here: ‘I guess their reasoning is they want Russia to win so badly that they want to oust the speaker over it. I think it’s a strange position to take. I think they want to be in the minority too.'”