City’s Seasonal Shelter for Single Adults to Close
Clients Faced With Eleventh-hour Search for Alternative Housing

    SAN DIEGO — The City of San Diego-funded Single Adult Seasonal Shelter located on the corner of 16th Street and Newton Avenue will shut its doors Friday, March 15 at 7:30 a.m.

    The shelter program, managed for the past five years by St. Vincent de Paul Village, opened December 15, 2001 and has provided much-needed respite from San Diego’s cold and wet winter weather. Two overflow shelters at St. Vincent’s main facility – one housing 90 family members and the other accommodating 180 single adults – will also close on Friday.

   "We were lucky this year not to have that much precipitation," says Fr. Joe Carroll, president of St. Vincent’s. "There were, however, many cold nights and we’re glad to have had the opportunity to assist some of the most vulnerable members of our community."

   Fr. Joe says there was an increase in the number of senior citizens and individuals with disabilities accessing the seasonal shelter this year, a sign that rents in the area continue to rise.

   "The elderly and disabled often are on fixed incomes," he says. "When their landlords tell them their rents are going up $100 next month, their Social Security insurance does not increase to offset the higher rent – they’re left high, dry and homeless."

   St. Vincent’s staff has worked since the shelter’s opening to transition clients into more stable living situations, having moved many individuals into the Village’s short-term residential program. Other agencies, such as the Salvation Army, Volunteers of America, Senior Community Centers and Vietnam Veterans of San Diego, have also accepted seasonal shelter clients into their transitional living programs.

   "We’ve worked tirelessly to ensure every client will have a place to go before the closing," Fr. Joe says. "We’ve held onsite job and housing fairs, but despite all of our efforts, there will be people returning to the streets Friday. As much as we want to help all of our clients, we cannot force them to change; it’s a decision they have to make, and when they make that choice, we’ll be there to help them."

   Before leaving the shelter, clients will be served a final breakfast. Shelter officials expect the tent-like structure to be completely empty by 11 a.m.

   Another facility managed by St. Vincent’s, the La Mesa Seasonal Family Shelter, will close April 3.

   For more information on the closing of the city’s Single Adult Seasonal Shelter, call (619) 525-1608.

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