SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Two of the largest homeless shelters in San Diego, Golden Hall and Paul Mirabile Center, are set to close in December. The temporary permit for Golden Hall expired. And the Paul Mirabile Center will be redeveloped to help people with substance abuse issues. The city will lose more than 600 beds. Rickey Edwards is worried his brother will be displaced.
“He doesn’t know where he’s going to end up when golden hall closes?”
“No,” Edwards said.
“Are you worried about him?”
“Always, we’re always worried about each other," Edwards said. "Practically call each other everyday.”
The City says it’s prepared for this moment. A representative says they stopped accepting new applicants at those shelters and expect to relocate anyone still inside. They’ve added more than 500 beds to the safe sleeping sites near balboa park, where Edwards is now staying.
“I told them they're laying out some more tents, he might be going there,” Edwards said.
“Do you think he would prefer where you're staying? The safe sleeping sight?”
“Ya, it’s comfortable just like going camping," Edwards said. "Just everyday.”
But there’s still a long way to go.
“It’s a disaster, we’re killing people faster than ever because of the rent affordability crisis,” said John Brady, a Homeless advocate.
Brady says hundreds of people are on waiting lists for shelter beds. On Tuesday, City Council members suggested more than a dozen possible locations for new shelters in their districts.
“This idea of finding a place where we could put 500 or a 1,000 people has got to go away," Brady said. "We also want to reinforce the fact that shelters are not a part of the solution, they are a continuation of the problems on our streets.”
The city says it’s still considering putting a 1,000 bed shelter at Kettner and Vine. Brady hopes that they’ll differ that funding toward affordable housing solutions.
