![\"Angels](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/eric-1.jpg\")
\u201cThis building is owned by Father Joe\u2019s, and they gave me a screamin\u2019 deal on the lease,\u201d Lovett said while beaming with pride. \u201cThe building comes with a large commercial grade kitchen, and both a gym and art studio downstairs. It\u2019s just amazing how this all came together!\u201d<\/p>\n
This first-of-its-kind housing complex not only serves as a home, but as a resource center where his residents can seek job training and employment opportunities, as well as holistic health care and counseling.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have our own van and take it around San Diego contacting homeless youth who might qualify for our help,\u201d Lovett said. \u201cOcean Beach is by far ground zero for these kids. All of our youth are homeless, they deal with mental illness, and we are combating the stigma of that, and then saying you can do it, and we can help you do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Candidates for housing must meet three qualifications to enter the program. First, they must be homeless and between the ages of 18 and 25 (also known as transition age youth or TAY). They must also have been identified with mental illness and qualify for services in the San Diego County\u2019s Behavioral Health Services System of Care.<\/p>\n
Qualified participants can enroll in the county-sponsored Just Be U three-month program, which includes support, housing and linkage to ongoing behavioral health treatment. After completion of the Just Be U program, they graduate and then can register for the nine-month Short-Term and Bridge Housing program. Participants then receive case management and an interactive roadmap to achieve success, along with safe, supportive housing. With this new center, Urban Street Angels aims to successfully help more than 100 homeless youth off the streets by 2020, and more than 500 by 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn any given night, we have 1,000 homeless youth on the streets of San Diego,\u201d Lovett said. \u201cMany have been sexually or physically abused, a lot have experienced emotional abuse. Close to 100 percent of our youth have dealt with mental health issues in some shape, sort, or fashion. Therefore I saw the need \u2014 six years ago, when I started this \u2014 to make a difference in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lovett started by going to the streets with water and sandwiches for the kids and providing basic life necessities. He saw there was no real dedicated homes for these youth and opened up his apartment to house a few.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started with two, and all my friends said, \u2018Eric, don\u2019t do it, they\u2019ll rob, they\u2019ll steal from you, what are you doing?\u2019\u201d Lovett said. \u201cBut I felt the need to do that. So we started there, moved up to six in my own home, and over the period of the last few years we\u2019ve grown, and now we\u2019ll have 35 living in this new facility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lovett also realized that beyond housing, these youths needed jobs and job training. So with his nonprofit, he created a social enterprise 8 West which creates high-end natural soap and candles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started that in my own home as well,\u201d Lovett said. \u201cThe name comes from \u2014 at the end of Interstate 8 West \u2014 is Ocean beach, which is one of the largest demographics for homeless youth in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lovett uses 8 West to teach job skills and partners with 20 other companies to get his youth ready for the work force. He lets the kids gravitate to whichever aspect of the business they feel the most comfortable with. Some choose to manufacture the soap, while others sell it at local farmer\u2019s markets. Others are involved in creating the marketing graphics<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always said, a job is what you\u2019re paid for, but a calling is what you\u2019re made for,\u201d Lovett said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s the whole purpose of 8 West.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lovett credits 8 West with solidifying an existing partnership with the county, which helps fund his programs. This includes not only his new building, but also satellite emergency shelters such as Missiongathering Christian Church in North Park. He specifically credits Cecily Thornton-Stearns of the county\u2019s Behavioral Health and Human Services Department with making that happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cCecily came to me in March of 2016 after seeing our soaps somewhere, and she was like, \u2018So what are you doing?\u2019\u201d Lovett said. \u201cI told her I wanted to house people and I wanted to teach them sustainability. I wanted to give them a hand up, not just a hand out. She then said we want to partner with you \u2014 we want to pay for the beds. The county of San Diego now funds 90 percent of all our programs. We are just so thankful for the county and their belief in this and changing homelessness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lovett himself came from a background of being rejected early in his life because of his sexuality.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a Christian musician \u2014 from the South, Alabama \u2014 and naturally when I came out, I lost everything I had,\u201d Lovett reflected. \u201cThat was many years ago, and I never wanted a young person to feel rejected or ostracized because of their sexuality, the color of their skin, where they\u2019re from or who they choose to love. So that\u2019s what really motivated me to start this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because of this, Lovett has strong ties to the local LGBTQ community.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur organization is not just for LGBTQ, but we probably have 40 percent that are,\u201d Lovett said. \u201cWe accept transgender, those who identify as how they identify, and we also accept undocumented. Basically we believe in giving hope to those who need it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lovett found San Diego the perfect place to start his vision. He credits the accepting nature of San Diegans as inspiration.<\/p>\n
\u201cSan Diego is like the South to me, people here want to meet you face to face; they are very hospitable,\u201d Lovett said. \u201cSo I felt at home, but I also felt \u2026 welcomed. People here didn\u2019t care if I was gay, they don\u2019t care what color your skin is. So that was a big calling card for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Autumn Rapson is a current resident of Urban Street Angels, and her story is somewhat typical of the youth housed there. She, too, identifies as LGBTQ. The Waco, Texas native grew up with an abusive mom, which caused her to \u201chouse hop\u201d and have run-ins with Child Protective Services. After running off to San Diego, she experienced several mental health breakdowns, which resulted in hospitalization. After a few unsuccessful attempts to seek treatment at several programs, she got news that a dear friend had taken their life.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I found that out, I spun into a really deep dark place,\u201d Rapson said. \u201cI was then in and out of the hospital quite a lot and had a few attempts myself. I was losing everything and felt completely hopeless, I couldn\u2019t honestly say like, if someone said, \u2018What do you see tomorrow?\u2019 I\u2019d say, I\u2019m not gonna make it to tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n As a last resort, Rapson posted a plea for help on Facebook saying she had nowhere to go and asked for leads. Somebody posted back the name Sunny Rey, a case manager with Just Be U. Rey picked her up at the hospital when she was discharged, and she has been there since. Rapson credits Rey and Urban Street Angels with saving her life.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they weren\u2019t there to pick me up when I was down, I don\u2019t know what would have happened,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Urban Street Angels held its grand opening ceremony on Jan. 18, although they have actually been in operation since last year. City officials and sponsors were treated to a tour of the facility. Rapson opened the event with a stunningly stellar a capella version of \u201cThe Star Spangled Banner.\u201d Councilman Chris Ward along with Father Joe\u2019s President and CEO Deacon Jim Vargas said a few words, while BIA Cares and the Cushman Foundation presented sizable donations. As the event wound down, officials from several communities such as El Cajon and Vista were already pitching Lovett to expand Urban Street Angels to serve in their areas. Lovett was enthusiastic about the concept.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to do it! We need to do it!\u201d he repeatedly emphasized in his Southern drawl.<\/p>\n Support 8 West and the Urban Street Angels by purchasing handcrafted premium bath, shower and spa products at 8west.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Angels](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/autumn-1.jpg\")