VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — One of the biggest issues with homelessness is that there are not enough beds for people to sleep in.
That's about the change in the north and east counties.
“I was homeless. I was in my addiction,” Rita Dean, who stayed at the San Diego Rescue Mission’s South County Lighthouse, said.
Sometimes a phone call can not only take you somewhere different, but it can change your life.
“I’m gaining my family back. I’m sober 10 months,” Dean said.
That’s one of the many stories to come from the San Diego Rescue Mission’s South County Lighthouse in National City.
Folks are clapping for that boost that’s going into the effort to curb homelessness in San Diego County, specifically shelter beds.
“I think it’s a big shot in the arm,” Donnie Dee, CEO of the San Diego Rescue Mission, said. “The way we’ve worked is we build it and then we go raise the money for it.”
On Monday, the non-profit announced a partnership with fellow homelessness non-profit Lucky Duck Foundation. Lucky Duck’s committing $10,000 for every new bed the Rescue Mission gets online from now until the end of next June.
“It's a way to demonstrate we can quickly activate beds,” Drew Moser, CEO of Lucky Duck Foundation, said. “It's also a way for the Rescue Mission to then go out and work with local elected officials and move them along to say hey, we have money in the bank, but they need to be activated by a certain date here in order for the funding to come through.”
The first community to benefit from the partnership will be the City of Vista. In June, it approved the Rescue Mission to run its new future expanded shelter as its pilot program is coming to an end.
“Of course, it didn’t hurt matters that they offered to provide the financing to fund the operations of the shelter together with Lucky Duck Foundation,” Mayor John Franklin from City of Vista said. “A major benefit financially to the City of Vista and the City of Vista.”
They’re hitting the ground running to look for the location in Vista while looking at other potential sites in East County.
The commitment will be up to $1.5 million with the Rescue Mission’s south county shelter being the model for future sites.
“The idea is it complements the 12-month Downtown. You’ll no longer just come to the 12-month program. You’ll allow us to send you to the 30-day shelter so we can better assess you and make sure you’re taking the right step forward and out of homelessness,” Dee said.
The Lucky Duck Foundation also says the partnership will help expand the non-profit's “Cash for Trash” program across the region.
