The Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFH) on Oct. 12 unveiled its first Regional Community Action Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in San Diego through a housing-focused, equity-driven, and person-centered system of care.
The new plan sets forth a shared vision, identifies system and resource gaps, and promotes evidence-based approaches with the goal of ending homelessness in the next five years in our region. This “Plan of Plans” incorporates federal, state, and local plans to streamline the San Diego region’s needs and create implementable solutions.
“We know what the solutions are,” RTFH CEO Tamera Kohler said. “We also know the distance we have to overcome but if we take the steps outlined in this plan homelessness will become a brief occurrence for individuals and families and not a permanent state of existence.”
Kohler added: “I want to thank everyone who assisted with the development of this plan, especially those with lived experience, the community members who provided feedback throughout the region, and our CoC board, who saw the need for a single plan with a shared vision and direction for the region and spearheaded this effort along with our staff.”
This new Regional Community Action Plan promotes evidence-based approaches, including person-centered orientations like Housing First, Trauma Informed Care, and progressive engagement. It also embraces the truth that ending homelessness begins with a home, and everyone with a home can thrive with appropriate support.
“This plan is impactful and implementable across our region,” RTFH board chair Ray Ellis said. “It clearly defines what success looks like, provides a pathway to achieve that success, and clearly articulates to everyone concerned about homelessness in our region how we’re going to get there.”
The Regional Community Action Plan lays out five human-center goals to achieve over the next five years:
- End veteran homelessness;
- End youth homelessness;
- Reduce unsheltered homelessness by 50%;
- Prevent and end homelessness among older adults;
- End family homelessness.
Beyond these goals, the plan establishes related policy goals and sets targets of how much and what kind of housing our region needs to make homelessness in San Diego a rare and brief occurrence.
“Ending homelessness does not mean there will never be another person who will face a housing crisis in San Diego again,” the plan says. “Rather, it means San Diego will have a robust coordinated system in place to prevent housing loss when possible, and when not prevented, to respond with urgency, eagerness, and compassion, to engage people in a meaningful way, connect them to permanent housing as quickly as possible, and provide stabilizing community supports.”
An analysis of the homelessness system found success and opportunities. “While the system is stronger and there is more leadership, momentum, partners, and funding to address homelessness than ever before, critical gaps and challenges remain in San Diego,” the plan says.
This new regional plan was built through the equity lens and input from those with lived experience. The data and information collected from the Ad Hoc Committee on Black San Diegans Experiencing Homelessness played an important role in crafting a plan that will create better outcomes across our region.
“While there’s a lot of work to be done, there’s immense opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our unsheltered neighbors,” CoC advisory board chair Sean Spear said. “I look forward to working with my fellow board members and other stakeholders to use all of the available tools, knowledge, and talent at our disposal to end homelessness in San Diego.”
A detailed implementation plan is being developed as a companion document to the Regional Plan and will outline the tasks, timelines, and resources to achieve the plan’s goals. For the plan itself, as well as an executive summary, please see the attached document and click here.
“This plan is not designed to sit on a shelf and gather dust,” Kohler said. “This document will guide RTFH in our policy focus, set priorities for funding, and serve as the anchor for RTFH’s upcoming conference on homelessness. It’s a thorough report that sets out exactly what we need to do to turn the tide of homelessness in our region over the next five years.”
For more information, visit rtfhsd.org.
