SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Now nine months into the program, San Diego’s Safe Sleeping Sites are still a work in progress. But new numbers show people experiencing homelessness are taking advantage of the opportunity, and even using the sites as a springboard to permanent housing.
The City of San Diego opened two “Safe Sleeping Sites” over the last year. Mayor Todd Gloria made them a cornerstone of his plan to crack down on illegal camping on city streets and also said they would become part of the solution to San Diego’s homeless crisis.
In May , the city opened the lot at 20th and B, near the Balboa Park golf course. Several months later , a second, larger lot opened near the Navy Hospital at Balboa Park. It was called “O-Lot.”
Numbers change every day. But as of Mid-January, data from the city shows that the lot at 20th and B has 105 tents currently occupied, housing 141 people. O-Lot has 322 tents full, with 373 people.
Also, Dreams for Change, one of two groups that manages the lots, says 26 people have moved directly from the lots into more permanent housing.