During Mayor Todd Gloria's 2025 State of the City address, he reiterated the vital need to shelter the homeless no matter what.
“Even with our difficult financial picture, we will increase options for people to get off the streets this year,” stated Mayor Gloria.
This comes after Mayor Gloria promised 1,000 shelter beds for the homeless last year during his State of the City address. Despite large proposals to make that a reality, like Kettner and Vine, it was met with opposition and never came to fruition.
While optimism shined through his annual address Wednesday, so did accountability on homelessness which he called a regional crisis not just for the city to solve.
“It’s long past time for all the cities in this county to do their part and not simply rely on you, the taxpayers of this city, to continue to foot the bill," Gloria said. "For every city in our region from San Marcos to Imperial Beach, they need to step it up.”
Local organizations who have also stepped up to help like San Diego Rescue Mission say this shines a light on accountability and the importance of community to make a difference
"I think that it's a great reminder that we can't just look for the government to solve this," says Armstrong. "The city can do its part, but the rest of us need to be looking for creative ways where we can do our part."
Last January, we were there… when the only answer was 'more.'
"The only true solution to both addressing homelessness and housing affordability is to build more housing," said Gloria during his 2024 address.
A year later, Mayor Gloria is calling for more action at all level.
"Whether you’re a community member or a member of this city council, understand that we are going to do more, we must do more."
That also includes quality help for mental health and addiction from the county, and a more all hands on deck approach.
"We have a lot of smart people in our city and our community. We can figure out a solution, but we need to figure it out because that's the issue," says Armstrong, who is hopeful help is on the way to those who need it. "We didn't make that goal, but the problem didn't go away either."
