Oceanside receives $3.3M county grant for homeless center
Oceanside Mayor Esther Sanchez speaks about a $3.3 million homeless shelter grant at a news conference Sept. 21 at the facility site. She’s joined by (left to right) Salvador Roman, management analyst/homeless services; Leilani Hines, Housing and Neighborhood Services director; county staff; City Manager Jonathan Borrego; Deputy Mayor Ryan Keim; Councilman Peter Weiss; Councilwoman Kori Jensen; county Supervisors Jim Desmond and Nathan Fletcher; and San Diego Rescue Mission President and CEO Donnie Dee. (Oceanside city photo)
September 26, 2022
San Diego County has awarded more than $3 million to Oceanside toward the city’s Navigation Center for homeless individuals and families.
The grant was celebrated Wednesday, Sept. 21, at a gathering of city and county officials. The city of Vista received $65,000 from the county to help fund a safe-parking program for the homeless.
“Oceanside is excited about this generous grant from the County in advancing our efforts to shelter our residents,” Mayor Esther Sanchez said in a city news release. “The Oceanside Navigation Center will be a low-barrier facility that will move people immediately off the streets into a safe environment where they will be connected to needed services like counseling, medical and mental health care, job training programs, and more. We thank San Diego County for its wonderful partnership.”
The county’s grant program, which makes $10 million available to cities for new emergency housing projects, was approved by the Board of Supervisors in May. Oceanside received $3,258,021.
The Oceanside Navigation Center, which is expected to open in several months, will provide a 50-bed homeless shelter in cooperation with the San Diego Rescue Mission, which will operate the shelter and provide additional services at the site, according to the city’s news release.
Homeless individuals and families will be referred to the center by the Oceanside Homeless Outreach Team, Oceanside Public Housing Authority and community service partners, the city stated. The Navigation Center will have 24-hour security as well.
“We look forward to working with partners and to the creation of new sustainable overnight shelter solutions for people experiencing homelessness,” Barbara Jiménez, community operations officer for the county’s Department of Homeless Solutions and Equitable Communities, said in a May announcement from the county.
