Shamrocks and shipwrecks

The nonprofit Lucky Duck Foundation has a semi-regular recognition program called “Shamrocks and Shipwrecks.” It names San Diego politicians and organizations that do right or wrong in the realm of homelessness assistance.

Lucky Duck is omnipresent in its own deeds that aid the unhoused. Money. Food. Housing. Sleeping Bags. Foster care organizational oversight. The Duck is legit.

In San Diego, there are entities that only recognize positive contributors. There’s nothing wrong with that, a.k.a. the San Diego Nice Guys, or the San Diego Business Journal’s hyper-inclusive annual list of 500 Most Influential People. My own news site, The San Diego Sun, recently published a Shining Lights list of downtowners who make a positive impact.

Bigger kudos to the sassy San Diego Architectural Foundation for its annual Orchids and Onions list of good and bad architectural design. And don’t ever stop quacking down, Lucky Duck. Here’s that foundation’s latest Shamrocks and Shipwrecks inductees:

Shamrocks

• Genesis Recovery & San Diego County, Interfaith Community Services & Escondido, and Father Joe’s Villages for adding critically-needed detox beds.
• Vista, for partnering with Urban Street Angels and Lucky Duck Foundation to create transitional housing for homeless youth.
• San Diego County and Dreams for Change, for putting to immediate use underutilized government-owned property as a safe parking site, ahead of future senior housing.
• San Diego County & District Attorney Summer Stephan, for creating the “Shelter Ready” app to show shelter bed availability in real-time.  

Shipwrecks

• The State of California, for creating a “voluntary” court for people too sick to volunteer, a highly ineffective effort.
• The City of San Diego, for prematurely closing a 150-bed shelter and pausing intakes at all other shelters.