November 2, 2020
‘Operation Shelter to Home’ Honored with San Diego County Taxpayers Association’s Grand Golden Watchdog Award
SAN DIEGO, CA – Operation Shelter to Home, an innovative collaboration to protect the health of San Diegans experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic and help them obtain housing as quickly as possible, has been honored with the “Grand Golden Watchdog” award from the San Diego County Taxpayers Association’s (SDCTA).
“Operation Shelter to Home has been a truly collaborative effort with resources coming together from all across our region during this pandemic to protect our vulnerable homeless population,” said Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer. “This recognition by the Taxpayers Association is a testament to the work that we’ve done collectively as a region to keep folks healthy, house hundreds of people at record pace, and invest in solutions that change lives for the better.”
“Operation Shelter to Home has been vital to our efforts to protect unsheltered San Diegans from contracting COVID-19,” said Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, Co-Chair of the County’s COVID-19 Subcommittee. “It also helped to coordinate our collective actions around getting homeless individuals into permanent and supportive housing situations. This initiative is a shining example of city, county and nonprofit collaboration at its best.”
Operation Shelter to Home serves more than 1,000 individuals per day and has helped more than 750 people obtain permanent or longer-term housing since it launched on April 1, 2020.
“This initiative demonstrates the positive impact coordination, collaboration and unified commitment can have in addressing homelessness in the City of San Diego,” San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) President & CEO Richard C. Gentry said. “I thank and congratulate all of the organizations working together to make this program a success.”
The SDCTA Golden Watchdog Awards recognize the best in local government spending and decision-making in San Diego County.
Operation Shelter to Home is a collaboration among the City of San Diego, County of San Diego, SDHC, Regional Task Force on the Homeless, the San Diego Convention Center, Father Joe’s Villages, Alpha Project, Veterans Village of San Diego and additional service providers.
This initiative temporarily repurposed parts of the San Diego Convention Center as a shelter for single adults experiencing homelessness in the City to allow for proper physical distancing and access to sanitation amenities, medical and other resources to prevent the spread of COVID-19. To date only 23 residents and staff at the shelter have tested positive out of more than 8,500 COVID-19 tests administered.
SDHC established a Housing Navigation Team (HNT) within 10 days of the shelter site opening, in collaboration with RTFH Coordinated Entry System staff. The HNT team focuses on identifying the most appropriate exit strategy for shelter clients and working to end their cycle of homelessness.
Operation Shelter to Home also advances the short-term goals of the City of San Diego’s Community Action Plan on Homelessness to end veteran homelessness, prevent and end youth homelessness, and reduce unsheltered homelessness, and supports the plan’s longer-term strategies for a coordinated, systems-level approach to addressing homelessness.
The award was presented on October 22, 2020, during the virtual celebration of SDCTA’s 25th annual Golden Watchdog & Fleece Awards. For more information about the awards, visit www.sdcta.org.
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Media Contacts:
Ashley Bailey
Deputy Director of Communications & Director of Digital Media
Office of Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer
619-392-0686
Scott Marshall
Vice President of Communications
San Diego Housing Commission
619-578-7138
