Regional Task Force on the Homeless

This is an important program that can help many more people. "Local governments mostly through their housing authorities will compete for grants to buy and rehab buildings that can be converted into housing or shelters for homeless people." https://www.latimes.com//program-to-buy-hotels-for-homeles

"We do have other ways to collect information. Last year we had over 35,000 individuals experiencing homelessness for different durations. The Point in Time Count is one everyone knows about. But we collect information every day." ~ RTFH CEO Tamera Kohler on KUSI News today https://www.kusi.com/taskforce-on-the-homeless-cancels-poi/

RTFH Board member Joel John Roberts discusses how homelessness workers have stepped up to save lives during the pandemic. https://sanjosespotlight.com/roberts-the-year-of-the-essen/

I want to play offense, and offense to me is to be more out there, out in the community, meeting people who are experiencing homelessness. RTFH will be assisting the San Diego Rescue Mission with the training of volunteers for this program. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com//rescue-mission-launc

Reporting done on how the city of San Diego is faring on its first year in the 10-year Community Action Plan on Homelessness.

The Times of San Diego has posted an article on the Convention Center and housing: "City Says Convention Center Homeless Shelter Helped Over 1,100 Find Housing" https://timesofsandiego.com//city-says-convention-center-/

#GivingTuesday is today! Please make sure to give back to our homeless community by helping us. Donate here: www.rtfhsd.org/donate Your donations are critical to support not only our organization, but to the organizations of our community. Help us move one day closer to where homelessness that may be experienced by anyone, for any reason, are rare, brief, and non-recurring.

A HUGE thank you to the volunteers for distributing the Takeda Pharmaceuticals donations and to the United Way of San Diego County for the 600 hygiene kits that will be distributed to our homeless community by local nonprofits around the region. We are so grateful!

Today is #CyberMonday and if you want to grab those deals, they will help us as well. https://smile.amazon.com/ You can also donate directly to our organization in preparation for tomorrow's event #GivingTuesday here: https://www.rtfhsd.org/donate/

We are extremely pleased to announce that we, along with the City of SD, the SD Housing Commission, and of course, the smooth transition of the Convention Center to be made into a temporary shelter and all of the efforts that went into Operation Shelter to Home have been awarded the Grand Golden Watchdog Award by the San Diego Taxpayer’s Association. Among the efforts to provide shelter and supportive services, and all of the COVID precautions taken, and securing housing for over 600 San Diegans experiencing homelessness. Congratulations to all who have been a part of this!

This Monday is #CyberMonday, and if you participate, make sure you get those deals to help us as well. Amazon has their sale starting today (Nov. 28-30) so if you shop there, we would love for you to sign up with us! https://smile.amazon.com/

Last week, Jewish Family Service held a Community Conversation with experts from the fields of supportive housing and homelessness to discuss how the pandemic has impacted those experiencing homelessness in San Diego and the innovative ways our community is responding. The presentation, featuring our CEO Tamera Kohler, can be viewed here.

If you have grocery needs, be sure to sign up before shopping at a Ralph’s near you and make your purchases count toward our organization. The Ralph's Community Contribution Program can be found here: https://www.ralphs.com/i/com/community-contribution-program You need to have an exiting account with Ralph's and when you when you select "Search for your organization here" you will be able to select the REGIONAL TASK FORCE ON THE HOMELESS." #GivingTuesday

The RTFH Newsletter for September/October is available now: https://mailchi.mp/5e/septemberoctober-2020-rtfh-newsletter

We received 18 more boxes Tuesday from the MCA with 9,000 additional face masks to disperse. Thank you to Omar Qudrat of the MCA, and to our own JennaMarie Glenna for distributing them to our partner organizations!

"Interviews with homeless people living outdoors throughout San Diego County revealed that many are seniors, a majority have some kind of disability and Black people are over-represented among the population." This article, released yesterday, discusses the findings of the PIT count that occurred this past January.

We would like to extend our warmest appreciation to the Muslim Coalition of America for the 20,000 Hanes reusable masks for our unsheltered neighbors. So far, they have been distributed out to Alpha Project, Chula Vista HHSA, Rachel's House, Father Joe's Villages, McAlister Institute, South Bay Community Services, Union of Pan Asian Communities, VVSD, and Vista Hill. As of today, 18 boxes containing 500 each have been dispersed to community partners. More to come! You can learn more about the Muslim Coalition of America on their Website: https://www.muslimcoalitionforamerica.org

The 2020 WeAllCount report is out. You can view it on our website under "Latest PIT Documents" found here:

We are proud of the Voices of San Diego Choir for their achievement on the national television show, AGT! The season premiere is tomorrow night at 8 on NBC.Be sure to tune in!

This virus has not to brought devastation to the homeless population as many people had feared. This article talks about the Convention Center, as well as other parts of California.

The July/August Newsletter is available here.

In July the RTFH CoC Board approved the recommendation to create an Ad Hoc Committee to Address Homelessness Among Black San Diegans. Community engagement is a critical part of this process and there will be multiple opportunities for engagement and input beyond this initial input survey, which closes on 08/20/2020. Please take the survey here.

The SD Convention Center has had some successes, particularly with VASH vouchers, in helping people through the process of finding a home.