Sheltering options, supportive housing and rapid rehousing units for individuals experiencing homelessness have grown 91% in the City of San Diego since 2019. The numbers were highlighted this week during an update to City Council on the Community Action Plan on Homelessness from leaders of the City’s Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department (HSSD), the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) and the Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFH). 

The update comes after the annual 2025 Point-in-Time Count numbers were released by the RTFH which revealed a 13.5% decrease in individuals experiencing homelessness in the City of San Diego. The annual count was conducted in late January by more than 1,700 volunteers countywide.  

“Across the region (county) we saw a 7% reduction overall,” RTFH CEO Tamera Kohler said during Tuesday’s presentation. “We saw that in almost every jurisdiction – but specifically in the City – you had a 13.5% decrease and I think you’re interventions and the way that you have coordinated resources, along with the work of the continuum and the funding we had put, have shown that this work and the investments have a measurable impact.” 

The Point-in-Time Count numbers also revealed more positive trends. When compared to 2024 numbers in the City, unsheltered veteran homelessness declined 22%, unsheltered youth homelessness 23% and unsheltered family homelessness 66%. This follows continued investment by the City and partners to open shelters specifically for these subpopulations. 

“The investments in those three populations – very targeted and coordinated – have seen in the Point-in-Time Count some measurable reductions,” Kohler said. 

The update to City Council Tuesday revealed the current fiscal year (July 2024 – present) has seen a 5-9% increase in the number of positive exits to housing from sheltering programs in the City. This is not by accident. The City and its partners have been working together to make targeted investments, backed by data, which include more resources for diversion and prevention.  

When operations were winding down at the previous Golden Hall Shelter downtown, the City, SDHC and RTFH launched a partnership to invest more diversion resources with the goal of 150 exits to permanent housing. With the help of additional funding from RTFH, since November 2024, this one initiative has seen 154 individuals exit to permanent housing.  

“The efforts in that diversion initiative were exceptionally fruitful. If we can continue to replicate that – it would be a huge win for all of us,” said Sarah Jarman, the City’s HSSD director. “And again, diversion is not the right intervention for everyone, and I think that’s also really important – that we’re building a system that has the right intervention for every individual where they are.” 

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 would fund just over 2,800 total sheltering options. It would include 1,634 traditional shelter beds, 767 Safe Sleeping tents, 396 Safe Parking spaces and 19 camper trailers for families experiencing homelessness. The City’s Coordinated Outreach Program includes more than 50 contracted-outreach workers to provide street-based case management across the City. 

The Community Action Plan on Homelessness was first developed in 2019, and the last update to City Council was in 2023. The document is meant to show all of the resources needed to fully address homelessness, which would translate to a significant financial investment. The 10-year roadmap has already helped move nearly 12,000 people into permanent housing between 2019 and 2023. The plan focuses on six main interventions: prevention, diversion, emergency shelter, rapid rehousing (rental subsidy with services for average of two years), low-income housing (rental subsidy with services for more than three years) and supportive housing, which includes a rental subsidy and intensive on-site services. 

When the plan was first launched in 2019, there were approximately 3,229 supportive housing units for individuals previously experiencing homelessness in the City. Today, there are nearly 7,000 (6,966). San Diego Housing Commission officials attribute the increase to the creation of numerous supportive housing projects with local government support. The SDHC is opening two new affordable housing properties this year for individuals previously experiencing homelessness, 62 units at Pacific Village in the Midway area and 161 units at Presidio Palms in Mission Valley. Both properties included regional investment and funding from California’s Homekey Program, which helps turn former hotels into affordable housing with supportive services. 

“Total permanent housing beds more than doubled between 2019 and 2025 with increases in rapid rehousing and supportive housing,” said Casey Snell, senior vice president at SDHC. “Overall, the number of crisis response and housing beds dedicated to homelessness have increased in the City by 91% as of 2025 – from 5,745 to 11,001.” 

Supportive housing beds are critical to moving people from sheltering programs into stable housing. 

“Often when we have large [housing] developments, that really does help with our throughput,” Jarman said. “When you see the outflow those months that those projects open – it's outstanding.” 

The City plans to expand capacity at a shelter for women and families later this year and open a new 190-space Safe Parking lot for those living in vehicles. During a tight budget year, the focus remains on continuing existing programs. Despite this, the City, SDHC and RTFH are committed to finding cost-efficient ways to free up existing shelter beds. This includes investing in prevention, through the City-funded Eviction Prevention Program and Housing Instability Prevention Program, and investing in diversion resources for those in existing shelters to get stable housing – whether that be connections with family, friends, shared housing, or even one-time investments to assist with move-in or housing expenses.  

“You are essentially freeing up the pressure on that shelter bed on the inflow, and you’re increasing the exit on the outflow, which means those shelter beds are turning over faster,“ SDHC President and CEO Lisa Jones said. 

In all, the RTFH reports the monthly number of individuals experiencing homelessness for the first time compared to those exiting homelessness to a stable home is trending in the right direction. 

“In late 2024 and early 2025, we have seen the change shift significantly,” Kohler said. “In calendar year 2024, an average difference between the inflow and outflow was about 209 persons. In 2025, that number has shrunk to 68. While the trend is positive, it needs continuous investments in diversion and prevention.”

Overall homelessness – including people living in the City’s shelters or enrolled in transitional housing programs – dropped from 6,783 to 5,866. The number of residents living unsheltered in San Diego dropped from 3,489 to 3,354, a 3.9% decrease. However, it should be noted, the “unsheltered” number includes 844 people participating in the Safe Sleeping and Safe Parking programs. Were the people in these programs counted as sheltered, the overall decrease in unsheltered homelessness in the city would have been 8.1%.