San Diego approves US$44.3 million for housing

SAN DIEGO, CA – The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved the use of US$44.3 million in state funds from the Behavioural Health Bridge Housing Programme to provide more homes for people in the region who have serious behavioural health conditions and are homeless.

According to the County, the funds will help address the need for board and care beds that are typically home-like settings for five or six adults or seniors who need specialized care, but not in a hospital or clinical setting.

In 2022, the Board approved the Optimal Care Pathways Model as a result of a thorough review of current and historical data and existing care models to better understand and project regional needs.

The County said recommendations guided by the Optimal Care Pathways model indicate that the region needs to increase housing and care capacity by nearly 150 percent, which translates to about 450 additional beds.

“This funding comes at a time of growing need for more behavioural health housing resources,” said Dr. Luke Bergmann, director of Behavioural Health Services.

The action allocates US$41.5 million for new pension and care payments to supplement funding for Medi-Cal customers and help them cover rising pension and care rental costs. 

While the remaining US$2.8 million will be used for infrastructure start-up costs to accelerate the creation of new beds.

Approved uses for the funds include hiring additional assisted living workers, outreach and engagement, infrastructure and housing start-up costs, which include shelter, transitional housing, rental assistance, and patch funds for assisted living settings and housing navigation.