Correction: The City Council on Tuesday allocated funding to keep the Midway District shelter open through August. An earlier version of this story said the shelter would soon close.
SAN DIEGO – The 150-bed homeless shelter on Rosecrans Street in the Midway District, which had been scheduled to close on June 30, has received a reprieve.
Funding initially only had been available until the end of the month, but after a San Diego City Council vote Tuesday, the shelter is set to remain open through August. The council added $488,000 to cover expenses at the facility, part of more than $7 million restored to the budget to cover homeless services and affordable housing.
Opened in 2022, the Rosecrans facility, located on county-owned land, provides services to individuals with mental and behavioral health conditions. The city and county, which jointly operate the shelter, disagree over how to continue funding it, with the mayor proposing to remove city funding and shift the responsibility to San Diego County.
The Alpha Project oversees the Midway shelter, which offers meals, showers, laundry availability and storage for belongings, as well as mental health and addiction treatment.
Some councilmembers advocated for the shelter to remain open until the adjacent building is demolished, and had requested additional funding for the shelter. The county has stated that the demolition of the adjacent building won’t happen until next March, and it has approved $800,000 to help with utility costs if the shelter stays open.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria had proposed ending city funding for the shelter, which the city and county operate under a memorandum of understanding. An MOU is a non-binding agreement outlining what’s expected for future collaboration between both parties.
Gloria claims that the county has failed to invest adequately in treatment and beds at the Midway facility. The county, however, says it’s receptive to finding a way to keep the Midway shelter open.
“The county is committed to supporting those in need of safe shelter and behavioral health services throughout the region, including efforts in partnership with the city of San Diego,” said Tammy Glenn, director of the county’s communications office.
“The shelter is operated by the city of San Diego as part of an agreement between the county, city, and Lucky Duck Foundation. The county remains ready to collaborate and move forward on solutions that keep this shelter open and serving vulnerable San Diegans.”
Gloria, however, views the Midway shelter situation differently. During a Q&A session following his recent speech on the city’s budget revision for Fiscal Year 2026, Gloria said: “This arrangement has been one where the city invests $5 for every $1 that the county contributes.
“I believe the county is moving forward with a demolition of the adjacent building that is 16 feet away from the shelter where these very vulnerable mentally ill and substance abuse residents exist. [The county] has no plans for the use of that site, no permits, no environmental reviews, and, to my knowledge, no funding.
“What they’re expecting to do is demolish the building that is next to the shelter, and thereby terminate the utilities that service that shelter cutting off electricity, water, sewer service,” Gloria said.
Gloria contends the $800,000 figure given by the county is not the true cost of re-establishing utility services at the existing Midway shelter site.
“By the county’s admission, it’s a minimum of $1 million, and as much as $2 million,” he countered adding, “If we agree that homelessness is a crisis, do they need to do this? I don’t believe that they do. I’ve had to move shelters in the past. I know what it takes.
“We’re doing that now because, if we shut it down July 1, or in March or sometime in the future, there will be costs associated with relocating these individuals,” Gloria said.
“These are costs the county’s not willing to bear. So given our limited financial situation, we will do what is responsible, stop intake into this facility and start redirecting individuals into our existing shelters.”
Gloria retains veto power over the budget approved by the City Council on Tuesday. He has five business days to review and sign off on their changes or reject them. The council can override vetoes on a supermajority vote.
