San Diego State University is starting a new program to provide housing to 100 college students who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
The university is partnering with the San Diego Housing Commission to give rental assistance to homeless students, or students who are aging out of the foster care system, under legal guardianship or are wards of the state.
It's the first partnership in the country between a public housing agency and a four-year university, SDSU President Elliot Hirshman said.
The assistance will go to students enrolled in SDSU's Guardian Scholars Program, which already provides homeless or students at risk of becoming homeless scholarships and other assistance.
"Our Guardian Scholars have persevered against incredible odds, and they have asked us for only one thing, to support our shared future in San Diego," Hirshman said. He said the program has a 95 percent graduation rate, and students in the program have been the student body president and studied at Oxford University. They've gone on to law school and Ph.D. programs, he said.
The Guardians Scholars Program will get $1 million to provide housing assistance — $600,000 in federal funds through the Housing Commission and $400,000 in donations raised by SDSU. The program will begin in the fall semester next year.
"Students should be focused on learning, not whether they have a place to sleep at night," Mayor Kevin Faulconer said. "These funds will ensure that vulnerable students can pursue their education goals without worrying about how they’re going to pay for housing."
Housing Commission CEO Richard Gentry said he thinks the program will be a model for the rest of the country.
The partnership was announced Thursday, just a few weeks after new data revealed San Diego has the fourth largest homeless population in the country.
Other homeless initiatives were also announced, including a Housing Commission pilot project with San Diego's Monarch School, a K-12 school for students impacted by homelessness.
The project will give federal rental housing vouchers to 25 homeless families over three years who have at least one child enrolled in the school, guaranteeing they spend no more than 28.5 percent of their monthly income on rent.
"While securing housing is just the first step out of homelessness, it's our hope that this combination of housing assistance, workforce training, case management and student education will help our families build long term self sufficiency," Monarch School CEO Erin Spiewak said.
The first family will likely move into the new housing in January.
Also announced was $10 million in funding to developers who want to build affordable housing. The money will come from federal funds and the city of San Diego's Affordable Housing Fund.
The awards are meant to support San Diego Housing Commission's "Housing First" initiative, a model of combatting homeless by getting people into housing as quickly as possible and then providing services they need.
City Councilman Todd Gloria gave an update on the program, which started a year ago. He said it has created 121 affordable housing units, 180 housing vouchers and has supported development including the conversion of downtown's Hotel Churchill into 72 affordable housing units.
The program "is making a clear, positive impact in our city," Gloria said. "No San Diegan should have to call the street home, and Housing First — San Diego is helping us address this critical challenge."
