Oside awarded $11.4M homeless grant

City is the only one in San Diego County to receive a grant from the Encampment Resolution Fund; will address encampment along State Route 78

The city of Oceanside received $11.4 million from the state to help address homelessness in the city and will partner with Carlsbad to provide more housing options, services and more. Courtesy photo

OCEANSIDE — The city is on the receiving end of an $11.4 million grant for efforts to tackle homelessness and transition individuals from encampments to shelter and housing.

Mayor Esther Sanchez joined Gov. Gavin Newsom for a press conference on Thursday as he announced $192 million from the Encampment Resolution Fund grants along with increasing oversight of the state’s homelessness funding to ensure accountability by local jurisdictions, according to a press release from Newsom’s office.

Oceanside was the only city in San Diego County to receive state funds and will also partner with the city of Carlsbad to address encampments along State Route 78 on the Buena Vista Creek, Sanchez said. The grant, which is for three years, will be used in conjunction with the city’s Housing First principles.

The key strategies and goals include expanding temporary housing at the Oceanside Navigation Center, Bridge Housing and La Posada in Carlsbad, along with expanding the city’s Safe Parking Program.

“We need to do that extra step to get more of our homeless off the streets and into shelter, and then transitional housing and then permanent supporting housing,” Sanchez added. “We’re still trying to crack that nut and this is going to help us. With the added positions we’re going to hire and working with Carlsbad, we definitely complement each other.”

Carlsbad was a co-applicant, although Oceanside wrote the application, according to Mandy Mills, Carlsbad’s director of Homeless and Housing Services. She said the creek runs between the border of the two cities and so each city’s Homeless Outreach Team, along with other service providers, cover the area. In addition, some of the creek also runs on Caltrans right of way.