Urban Street Angels adds 20 new emergency shelter beds for homeless youth at its downtown homeless center

Urban Street Angels (USA) announced today the completion and opening of 20 new emergency shelter beds for youth at its downtown San Diego homeless center. The 20 beds are in addition to 50 beds that are already occupied at USA’s downtown homeless center. Youth will begin to use the new beds and services starting on February 15, 2023. 

“These urgently needed shelter beds will make it possible for twenty additional youth to immediately move off the streets into a safe and stable environment and onto a path to end their homelessness once and for all. We thank San Diego County, the City of San Diego, the Lucky Duck Foundation, and Price Philanthropies for making this effort possible because it would not have happened without them. It is critical this type of collaboration continues and expands so we can more aggressively reduce youth homelessness in our region,” said Eric Lovett, Founder & CEO of Urban Street Angels.  

Through a collaboration with the City of San Diego, Supervisor Nathan Fletcher established the County-City Behavioral Health Impact Fund (BHIF) to provide one-time capital funding toward community-based behavioral health organizations to expand their capacity to provide services. USA received a $503,000 grant to cover the construction costs for the 20 beds. All projects supported with the BHIF are concentrated in the City of San Diego and help strengthen the region’s continuum of care. 

San Diego Housing Commission will pay for all supportive services which includes case management, housing & job placement, Occupational Therapy, linkage to health care and removing barriers to assist youth to succeed.  The Lucky Duck Foundation and Price Charities provided all necessary move-in supplies including bed frames, mattresses, linens, hygiene supplies, and more.

Additionally, the Lucky Duck Foundation is awarding a “shamrock” to both the County and City of San Diego for helping maximize existing shelter space in a practical and cost-effective manner to bring twenty more beds online to help youth overcome homelessness. 

“Our youth are the future of this region and of our nation. Despite this, many struggle to find both housing and effective mental health services. These are connected issues,” said County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher. “Through our partnership with Urban Street Angels, we are able to provide increased capacity for transitional housing and trauma-informed behavioral health care. This effort is a continuation of our county’s efforts to increase access to effective evidence-based health and housing services to get people off the streets”

“The Lucky Duck Foundation is pleased to support this effort and we applaud the City & County for their role in the expansion of beds and services during this critical time. Maximizing the use of Urban Street Angels’ existing space by adding twenty beds is one example of what must be done throughout the County to reduce homelessness. We believe this type of collaboration and maximization of resources can and should be replicated on a much larger scale, and we are prepared to support more of these kinds of efforts,” said Drew Moser, Executive Director of the Lucky Duck Foundation.

With the addition of these 20 beds, USA estimates that 60 youth will end their homelessness per year. This will increase the number of youth who end their homelessness through USA’s housing and programming from approximately 300 to 360 per year.

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