It doesn’t take long for Amanda Davis to give a tour of the studio she and her fiancé Will Henderson have shared for the last month. There’s a twin bed, wardrobe and in the kitchenette along one wall, a mini refrigerator, two-burner stove and a microwave.
But, after several years on and off the street, Davis and Henderson said the simple room is a godsend.
“Move-in day was good,” said Henderson. “Because we knew we had the place for a year and we knew we didn’t have to worry about what was going on outside the walls. It’s supposed to rain this weekend, you have no idea what it’s like to sleep out in the rain.”
They are two of the 66 people who stayed at the city’s temporary winter homeless shelter that the San Diego Housing Commission has already helped move into long-term housing this year.
A total of 102 people will be housed in San Diego through the federal Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program. Each household gets the money for a security deposit on a unit and 12 months of rental assistance.
Davis and Henderson already have plans for how they’ll use this year to stabilize their lives
“Here real soon I’ve got some dental issues that are going to get taken care of,” Henderson said. “After then I’m going to hit the job market; see if I can maybe get into Home Depot or Loews.”
Davis said she is planning to get her high-school equivalency and if all goes according to plan, they’ll be married soon.
“Mother’s Day, I’m hoping,” Davis said.
Just 26 people were housed through the Rapid Re-Housing Initiative in San Diego last year. It was created as part of the federal stimulus package and will end next year.
