Father Joe’s Villages is opening new dorm-style apartments for people leaving homelessness. At $842 per month, these units at the downtown campus will be a fraction of the cost of an average San Diego studio.
“That’s, a lot of times, well within the reach of the population we serve,” said Jim Vargas, president and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages.
Each room has a bed, microwave, refrigerator and wardrobe. Residents will share bathrooms, a kitchen and a lounge area.
These apartments are single-occupancy units, or SROs. They’re some of the most affordable housing options in San Diego.
The number of SROs has been dropping year after year. According to researchers at UC San Diego, there were 110 single-occupancy hotels in 2002. By 2023, that number had dropped to 35.
“Up until a few years ago, there were thousands of SROs downtown,” Vargas said. “Unfortunately, they started being converted to market-rate housing. So people who resided there started falling onto the streets, because a lot of them were dependent on the low rents the SROs provide.”
Vargas said some tenants are coming from shelters, while others are leaving street homelessness. They’ll have access to other Father Joe’s Villages services, including meals, a health clinic and a job center.
“Anything that will help people to retain their homes here, and then prosper within them, we’re there to help them,” Vargas said.
Father Joe’s Villages had previously used the space for a shelter program. They’ve spent the last few months renovating and furnishing the units with donated funds.
Tenants start moving in this week and will continue to arrive through early November.
