A plan to pay for large tents to house San Diego’s burgeoning homeless population is scheduled to be announced Thursday by Padres managing partner Peter Seidler and restaurateur Dan Shea.
With many of the area’s homeless living on the streets near Petco Park, Seidler has become highly involved in the issue in recent months.
He and Shea — a partner in fast-food outlet owner Paradigm Investment Group LLC and co-owner of Donovan’s Steak & Chop House eateries in La Jolla, San Diego and Phoenix — are set to announce the funding plan at the University of San Diego.
At a recent symposium, they said their plan could shelter the homeless and provide basic services for $17 a day, per person. The initiative would also include coordination with social services, along with mental and physical health evaluations and case management.
In January’s annual tally of the area’s transient population, 5,619 homeless individuals were counted in the city of San Diego, a 10.3 percent increase from last year. Of those, 3,231 were living on the streets.
City and county officials have responded recently with a series of proposals on how to address both homelessness and a lack of affordable housing.
The city of San Diego funded a cold-weather shelter in a tented structure in Barrio Logan for around 30 years. It was shut down for the last time two years ago in favor of a permanent facility run by Father Joe’s Villages.
–City News Service