San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed city budget would eliminate funding for the Neil Good Day Center.
Father Joe’s Villages operates the center. It offers bathrooms, laundry, storage and mail services to homeless San Diegans. Case managers work to connect people to other resources. It’s also a safe place to nap after a night on the street.
“I can't even imagine what would happen if it was closed,” said Paul Sheck, the center’s manager. “Where would people go?”
The center has been a source of hope and positivity for Peter Alcock. He’s been homeless for about a month. He comes to the center every morning to charge his phone and laptop, which he uses to look for jobs.
“This is a pulse,” he said. “And if you cut this pulse, you're going to leave all the people who have almost no hope with no other option.”
The city’s 2026 budget included $875,600 in funding for the center. Father Joe’s typically spends about $500,000 of its own funds, said Jim Vargas, the nonprofit’s president and CEO. Father Joe’s is willing to keep it open, even without city funding, he said.
“We would have to curtail our services tremendously,” he said. “We're still willing to operate even under those circumstances, because that's how critical we think this program is.”
The draft budget says the cut is “associated with closing” the center. But Joya Patel, a spokesperson for Mayor Todd Gloria’s office, said no final decision has been made about the future of the site.
“More broadly, this reflects the difficult choices required in this year’s budget,” she wrote in an email. “With finite resources and reductions in outside funding, including state (Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention) funds, we have had to prioritize programs that maximize shelter capacity and help move people into permanent housing.”
Sheck said there are usually 10 to 15 people waiting for the center’s doors to open each morning, seeking referrals to shelters.
“When you call 211 and you’re newly homeless, they tell you to come here,” he said.
There aren’t enough shelter beds in the city for everyone who needs one, Vargas said.
“If not for us, these individuals that we serve here would be on the streets,” he said. “We know they don't have shelter, right? But at least during the daytime period, between about 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and seven days a week, at least they have a place to go.”
City leaders will continue discussing the budget over the next several weeks.
