Number exceeds projections and puts provider firmly on track to reach July’s goal of 350 beds

San Diego CA— Father Joe’s Villages confirmed on Thursday April 2, 2015, that 102 beds were committed on the first night of the transition from the winter shelter tents to year-round full-service facilities. This follows last week’s San Diego City Council decision to move forward with a Housing Commission recommendation to replace temporary tents the city erects during the winter each year and move its 350 beds to Father Joe’s Villages’ St. Vincent de Paul campus as a year-round interim shelter. The strategy also seeks to create synergy between the proposed interim shelter and the Neil Good Day Center program by eventually co-locating both operations on the St. Vincent’s campus.
Of the 102 beds, 53 went to veterans coming from the Veterans Village of San Diego tent and the remaining 49 went to clients coming from Alpha Project temporary facilities. The remaining 248 beds will be available no later than July. These 102 beds at the St. Vincent de Paul Village, Paul Mirabel Center represent shelter not normally available after April 1, when temporary winter tents cease operations.
“We are happy to provide much-needed shelter and services to these clients who, historically on April 1, would have nowhere to go,” said Father Joe’s president and CEO, Deacon Jim Vargas. “We are also heartened by our continued collaboration with other providers in the region. It is our ultimate goal to end homelessness and, through innovative and tailored solutions, we are working toward that every day. Our strategy is solution-focused and based on our 65 years of experience and understanding of the needs of the homeless.”
San Diego is home to more than 8,500 homeless men, women and families, making it the fifth-largest population of homeless in the U.S. and the third largest for homeless veterans.
In 2014, Father Joe’s Villages’ St. Vincent de Paul Village provided services to nearly 15,000 people, served approximately 3,000 meals daily to the homeless and working poor and helped seven out of 10 people served by multidisciplinary Village teams to exit to permanent housing.