KPBS Midday Edition

San Diego's Fourth 'Bridge' Shelter Set To Open In November

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Brooke Ruth / Senior Producer of Audio News

Published October 16, 2019 at 11:15 AM PDT

This story was published more than 5 years ago.

Bunk beds line a communal sleep area at a new, temporary shelter for homeless families at Golden Hall in downtown San Diego, April 1, 2019.

The San Diego City Council is moving forward on homeless issues this week. After approving an ambitious Community Action Plan on Homelessness, the council gave the OK for the Alpha Project to run a fourth new bridge shelter.

The San Diego City Council on Tuesday approved a contract with Alpha Project, a nonprofit homeless service provider, to run a fourth "bridge" shelter at 17th Street and Imperial Avenue in downtown San Diego.

The new temporary shelter will add 150 shelter beds to San Diego’s homeless resources. It will focus on providing services to underserved populations within the homeless community, including young adults and individuals with physical and mental disabilities. The idea behind the city's "bridge" shelters is that they can serve as a temporary place to stay while homeless individuals find a permanent home.

The council's approval of the contract for the fourth temporary shelter follows the council's approval Monday of a strategic plan to address homelessness in the city. The new plan calls for an additional 350 to 500 shelter beds in the city.

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Bob McElroy, the president and CEO of Alpha Project, joined Midday Edition on Wednesday to discuss the city's new homeless plan and the role temporary tent shelters play in addressing the homeless crisis.

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Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Brooke Ruth

Brooke Ruth is the senior producer of Audio News. She previously served as a producer for "KPBS Midday Edition" and a web producer. Before joining KPBS, Brooke was a web editor for four newspapers and a local television station. She began her career in news at the Imperial Valley Press. She has also been part of the web teams at the Napa Valley Register, North County Times, and U-T San Diego. While pursuing her undergraduate degree at UCLA in psychology, she worked on the student newspaper, the Daily Bruin.

See stories by Brooke Ruth