By creating long-term solutions, Father Joe’s Villages helps individuals in need off the streets for good so they can live more productive lives. Through our Permanent Supportive Housing, people who are chronically homeless and living with a disability can get the support they need to gain lasting independence.
One of Father Joe’s Villages’ Permanent Supportive Housing units in the East Village.
The Housing Crisis in America’s Finest City
San Diego has one of the largest populations of people who are homeless nationwide, with more than 8,000 who have no place to call home on any given night. There are 26 people experiencing homelessness in San Diego for every 10,000 people in the general population.
At its core, San Diego’s homelessness crisis is a housing crisis. With record-breaking rent prices and one of the nation’s lowest vacancy rate, it is clear that affordable housing and supportive services are critical to solving our community’s homelesnesss crisis.
At Father Joe’s Villages, we believe that everyone deserves a safe place to call home. That is why Father Joe’s Villages provides a range of housing programs. These programs include Emergency Shelter, Transitional Housing, Rapid Rehousing, Permanent Supportive Housing and Affordable Housing.
This blog is a spotlight on Permanent Supportive Housing.
What is Permanent Supportive Housing?
Our Permanent Supportive Housing programs offer people who are chronically homelessness and living with a disability long-term rental subsidies and services ensuring lasting independence and dignity.
Through Permanent Supportive Housing, rent is affordable and ongoing supportive services help people gain stability and live more productive lives. Clients in Permanent Supportive Housing are paired with Tenant Services Coordinators and receive physical and behavioral healthcare, education and job training, addiction treatment, and more.
Most of our Tenant Services Coordinators work on-site at the apartment buildings where the tenants live. They do home visits and host social and educational events for the tenants. Other Tenant Services Coordinators visit tenants who live in smaller buildings around the county. Tenant Services Coordinators provide a consistent, professional helping hand to tenants in everything from working with the tenant to obtain and maintain income and benefits to monitoring the tenants’ individual healthcare needs and providing support so tenants can get to appointments.
Father Joe’s Villages helps neighbors like Ollie gain back their independence through Permanent Supportive Housing.
You can find them advocating on the tenant’s behalf, helping them access support within the community, teaching problem solving skills, modeling behaviors, and in addition, the Tenant Services team works directly with tenants to ensure that the tenant knows how to manage everyday issues of cleaning, shopping, organizing and maintaining a home.
We know from decades of experience, that given the right support our homeless neighbors can have a brighter future. In the last 10 years alone, Father Joe’s Villages has helped more than 11,000 people move off the streets and into permanent housing.
Justin Malamma, a supervisor in Tenant Services, says, “Here at the Village I’m able to play a small role in helping individuals live a more prosperous & purposeful life. Nothing feels more rewarding than having an impact on another person’s life.”
Creating Long-Term Solutions
In 2016, Father Joe’s Villages’ President and CEO Deacon Jim Vargas, announced the organization would invest in more permanent housing to directly address San Diego’s housing crisis. The Turning the Key Initiative aims to build 2,000 units of affordable housing for people who have experienced homelessness. All units will be affordable, and many will be reserved as Permanent Supportive Housing.
“With increased permanent housing options, Father Joe’s Villages will be better able to utilize housing and supportive services to help individuals and families secure a stable future.” says Deacon Jim.
In fact, Father Joe’s Villages will break ground on a new 14-story, mixed-use development featuring two residential towers with a total of 407 affordable apartments at Commercial & 14th Street in the East Village in October 2019 and begin renovations on motel that will become 88 affordable units in the South Bay.
Source: https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness-report/california/
