Up to 150 San Diegans experiencing homelessness will be able to move into the Rosecrans Shelter when it officially opens Monday, following a tour by city and county leaders of the facility Friday.
The Lucky Duck Foundation — which donated the use of the shelter structure and covered construction costs — took San Diego County Supervisor Chair Nathan Fletcher, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and other officials through the new shelter offering on-site behavioral health services.
"This new Rosecrans Shelter is a stepping stone for people living on our streets; it creates new opportunities for a better life," Fletcher said. "Being a guest at this shelter provides a better way to manage your mental health and the chance to beat addiction.
"The staff will connect people to self-sufficiency services, job opportunities and eventually a place to call home. These are the benefits of going to a shelter," he said.
The Rosecrans Shelter will offer on-site behavioral health services as well as 24-hour intakes, seven days a week. During their stay, residents will be offered services such as meals, showers, restrooms, laundry, storage for their belongings, mental health and addiction treatment assessments, communicable disease screenings, case management, housing navigation, and connections to self-sufficiency benefits like CalWORKS, CalFresh and Medi-Cal, a statement from the Lucky Duck Foundation reads.
"We are not going to be a city that's content with people living on our sidewalks. That's not compassionate," Gloria said. "As Mayor of San Diego, I'm committed to bringing every resource to bear to help folks off the street and ending the homelessness crisis."
The shelter is in City Council District 2 and County Supervisor District 3. It is expected to primarily house people experiencing homelessness in San Diego from nearby areas. However, everyone staying at the shelter will be offered the same services, regardless of their last place of residency.
"Our region urgently needs more readily available beds to provide immediate pathways off the streets for those suffering from homelessness," said Drew Moser, executive director of the Lucky Duck Foundation. "Bridge shelters accomplish exactly that. We are pleased to partner with the city and county of San Diego to make this possible, and importantly, we are poised and committed to doing more."
The city has contracted with Alpha Project to operate the shelter, located on county-owned land located off of Rosecrans Street in the Midway area of San Diego.
"These 150 new beds will be critical in supporting our unhoused neighbors," said San Diego City Councilwoman Jennifer Campbell. "More unsheltered individuals are finding a safe place thanks to real solutions like the Midway Bridge Shelter, the Homelessness Conservatorship and Treatment Unit, the SAFE Parking Program, and the Palm Avenue and Rachel's Promise shelters.
"The Midway Bridge Shelter is essential to the quality of life in my district because it provides an immediate response to the homelessness crisis in San Diego," she said.
To prepare the site, the county completed infrastructure work including removing and replacing lighting, new exterior site lighting, asphalt repairs, trenching for a new sewer connection, potable water connections, power connections for the structure, mobile trailers for laundry and shower and administrative offices.
The Lucky Duck Foundation is contributing the use of its bridge shelter structure and covered the cost to construct it on-site.
