Homeless tents in downtown San Diego
Homeless tents on set up on 16th Street in downtown San Diego. Photo by Chris Stone

Sen. Pat Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, announced Monday that the California Department of Housing and Community Development awarded nearly $500,000 to San Diego County for programs that reduce homelessness.

The DHCD dispersed the grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund programs and services, including re- housing assistance, emergency shelters and substance abuse treatment.

San Diego County received $453,822, according to Bates, who said neighboring Orange County received $605,188 in grant funding.

“These grants will help connect more people who are homeless or at- risk of homelessness with the services they need,” Bates said. “I will continue to work with my colleagues at every level of government to ensure that our communities receive their fair share of public funding to address homelessness.”

Bates announced a similar funding dispersal in October, at which time San Diego County received $1.4 million and Orange County received $1.1 million.

Gov. Gavin Newsom allocated roughly $1.3 billion for housing development in his state budget for fiscal year 2020, which he signed in June.

–City News Service