Father Joe's Villages, San Diego's largest homelessness services provider, served nearly 4,000 neighbors in need in January, including inclement weather shelter during recent unprecedented rainstorms, a report released Thursday by the nonprofit revealed.
This represented 28,506 shelter bed nights — defined as one person sleeping in a safe shelter for one night — during and following the Jan. 22 storms and flooding.
Father Joe's latest "Compassion in Action: Our Neighbors by the Numbers" monthly report includes data on the number of people experiencing homelessness in January. Father Joe's Villages' medical staff also provided care to 1,015 neighbors last month through Street Health, dentistry, mental health and psychiatric care. The organization also helped 36 individuals find housing and exit homelessness.
"Many of our neighbors in need experience homelessness all year — including during historic storms and inclement weather," said Deacon Jim Vargas, president and CEO of Father Joe's Villages. "This is precisely why we offer our wraparound services and emergency shelter options every day.
"The homelessness crisis doesn't take a day off for bad weather, so we don't either," Vargas said.
The monthly reports are intended to help the organization allocate resources to meet the needs of the communities it serves.
