HOTELS FOR HOMELESS KIDS NOW!

Over 900 hotel rooms reserved for COVID-19 sit empty every night in San Diego, while over 1,000 children and hundreds of immunocompromised, unhoused veterans, parents, elderly individuals, and other adults sleep frightened on the streets during a pandemic. Part of our region’s COVID-19 response plan included provisions to house people with high-risk health conditions in hotel rooms and NOT in a giant mass shelter in order to prevent community spread. Why are these rooms still sitting empty?

Here is what we were promised by the County at a joint press conference with the City:

“Any individual exhibiting symptoms, who is at greater risk of exposure, or part of a vulnerable population will continue to be placed in various hotel and motel rooms for temporary lodging per San Diego County’s guidance."

Here is what we were promised by the City:

“The San Diego Convention Center may not be the appropriate option for all individuals. Coordinated outreach teams are engaging with people on the streets to offer them shelter best fit for their condition, whether it be at the convention center, a motel room or another option.”

In March, the City of San Diego (serving as the leading entity) entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the County, the San Diego Housing Commission, and the Regional Task Force on the Homeless. The City agreed to receive millions in State and Federal tax dollars to house our unsheltered population. Since then, the City has paid itself millions of dollars per month to “house” people in the Convention Center which adds up to over $3,000 per person to sleep on a cot in an open room. (Over $4,000 per month when they have not been at capacity.)During COVID-19, the Convention Center mass shelter is life threatening for:
- Immunocompromised people
- People with high-risk health conditionsAnd the Convention Center shelter is not appropriate for or even available to:
- Families with children
- Parents fleeing domestic violence

If America’s Finest City can’t solve child homelessness during a pandemic with an EXTRA $50 MILLION DOLLARS, then we will NEVER end child homelessness. Our kids need a safe, stable place to shelter in place so that they have a chance to focus on school and participate in distance learning this school year.

SEND A MESSAGE TO:

Chris Ward, Chair, Regional Task Force on the Homeless

and the County Board of Supervisors.

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