SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — An app described as "Hotels.com for shelter beds" is making big strides after its first year in operation in San Diego County.
Called Shelter Ready, the free app works like a hotel booking platform. Outreach workers can see where space is available, what type of beds are open, and reserve a bed on the spot.
In our conversations with San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan and San Diego Rescue Mission's Chief of Staff Paul Armstrong, the app has two major takeaways from its first year: It is helping get people into shelters in under half the time it used to take, and it is helping the county understand what shelter strategies are working — and what are not.
"It is clearly more needed than I even expected," Stephan said. "The key to it is the efficiency and the accuracy in the way that it tracks, and people who are using it are now telling us that it is reducing what normally would take 40 hours a week to 15 hours a week."
The app first launched county-wide last June. Since then, nearly 600 organizations have signed up for the app. The data coming back is showing how many people actually found shelter and how many were rejected, giving organizations and cities a more transparent look at what is needed.
"That's been one of the things that's lacking in the larger system, is really being able to say, to really understand the nos," Armstrong said. "What were the reasons that someone couldn't get into the shelter, so that we can then adjust our shelter system to meet the demand signal?"
San Diego Rescue Mission is one of the organizations helping spearhead the app. Armstrong said the more coordinated everyone is, the more effective the work can be.
"This is an opportunity for us to get people off the streets immediately and get data to make sure our shelter system is right-sized to meet the demands that our outreach workers are seeing," Armstrong said.
The county's most recent Point-in-Time Count shows homelessness is down 11%. Stephan is giving some of the credit to the app.
After what Stephan is calling a successful first year, there will be an even bigger push for people to use it. The district attorney is still working to publish the data on a public dashboard and plans to have it ready during the app's second year.
Another significant positive: The app has used only half of the $300,000 allocated to it.
A major wishlist item is to eventually turn the app into kiosks at libraries and other public spaces so people can find shelter space on their own.
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