The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to shift money from a homeless shelter project in the community of Lakeside to a sleeping cabins site in the city of Lemon Grove.
By 4-0 vote, supervisors approved spending $4.9 million for the cabins site on Troy Street, diverting those funds from the Willow Recreational Vehicle Senior and Family Parking project. Some in the audience cheered in response to the vote.
"With today's action, the remaining funds will now be invested in two high-impact programs aimed at addressing homelessness across the region," according to a statement from Supervisors Joel Anderson and Monica Montgomery Steppe, who co-sponsored the Troy Street funding proposal.
According to the supervisors, $3.5 million will pay for one year of operations at the Lemon Grove site,
"a new initiative expected to provide temporary shelter and support services for approximately 140 people annually through 60 sleeping cabins."
The county will also spend $868,568 for its Regional Homeless Assistance Program to provide emergency housing services.
The Troy Street Sleeping Cabins project will offer "full wraparound support," according to Anderson and Montgomery Steppe.
Services will including case management, daily meals, housing navigation, hygiene facilities, transportation and "connections to broader social services, ensuring residents receive the comprehensive care they need to transition into permanent housing."
In response to a question from Supervisor Jim Desmond, a county staff member said there will be 24/7 security.
Last August, the board stopped the Willow RV parking project, "pending further view" following a "third-party report on the effectiveness of the county's provision of homeless services," KUSI/Fox 5 reported.
Before the vote, Montgomery Steppe thanked Anderson for his partnership in helping the county build out its emergency housing plans, saying, "this item today strongly bolsters those efforts."
"I have committed that I will continue to visit this site, and ensure this is a positive addition to our communities, because I live right around the corner," Montgomery Steppe said, adding at one point that alcohol or drug use will not be allowed at the site.
Along with crediting Montgomery Steppe for her efforts, Anderson thanked the Lemon Grove City Council and Mayor Alysson Snow for their support, "as these choices are not easy to make."
Solving homelessness is complicated, but the Troy Street location "is a compassionate way of addressing the issue," Anderson said. "We're not storing people — we're restoring their lives, and giving them back the future they once held."
John Brady, of Lived Experience Advisors, during public comment congratulated the board on the Troy Street location.
"I know that every time we have placed a location, whether it be a shelter or other permanent housing, that there has always been resistance," he said. "And in general, that resistance fades away once you're open and operating, and people see the incremental security and services that go in place."
He urged the county to find quicker, less expensive ways — like sleeping cabins or travel trailers — to help those now on the streets.
