SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - The City of San Diego said in its proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026 that it would potentially reduce funding for its portion of the Rosecrans Bridge Shelter, given the fact that the county plans to demolish the adjacent building on the site and cut off the utilities.
“It’s very worrisome,” Sofia Cardenas with Alpha Project said.
The non-profit was contracted by the City to run the shelter in the Midway District since it opened in September 2022.
“It was highlighted as such an important model bringing the City, the County and private philanthropy together,” Cardenas said.
“The folks we serve here many of them experience mental health issues. So having that County partnership, having that piece of mental health that’s built in; has been critically important.”
But the 150-bed shelter’s in potential jeopardy given what is being proposed in the city’s budget for next year.
Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget shows the city would cut it’s funding of around $4.8 million to the shelter.
“Obviously, we’re worried for them and what the future holds for them,” Cardenas said.
The Mayor’s Office sent the following statement to ABC 10News about the possible reduction in funding for the shelter.
“The County has unilaterally made the decision to demolish the building mere steps from the Rosecrans tent that serves 150 people experiencing homelessness – most of them with mental health challenges. With that demolition comes noise, disruption, and the loss of utilities, which would cost an estimated $2 million to relocate. The question everyone should be asking is why the County is undertaking this demolition when it has no plans for the site, instead of using the building to shelter homeless people or putting off the demolition so the site can continue to be used,” the Mayor’s Office’s statement said.
“The County has consistently abdicated its responsibilities on homelessness and mental health, and this is just the latest example. Their ongoing failure to meet their obligation to provide the region’s behavioral health care fuels our homelessness crisis and results our paramedics, firefighters and police officers spending thousands of service hours each month responding to mentally ill people in crisis on the street.”
However, Interim County Chair Terra Lawson-Remer's office pushed back on the notion of why City said it’s potentially pulling it’s funding for the shelter in the proposed budget.
Lawson-Remer's office issued a statement that said the County worked with the City to create an updated agreement to extend the shelter’s life by four more years, which the County said the City signaled its plan to walk away from it.
“Making sure that all those parties can keep working together is really important,” Cardenas said.
Regarding the demolition of the building next door on the site, the County states that the demolition was specified in the original agreement and will not occur until next March.
The reason it’s getting torn down is to make way for better services at an expanded County psychiatric hospital.
Lawson-Remer’s office also added that new utilities could be connected to the shelter for $2 million, and they hope private donors will pay for it.
The Interim County Chair’s office also said, “For the County to take over full shelter operations inside the City of San Diego would be akin to the County running City libraries or paving City streets.”
The City’s official budget proposal is expected to be released in May.
“At the end of the day, this is 150 lives and 41 employees who hang in the balance here with this decision, and we have to keep them at the center of it,” Cardenas said. “I understand every part of our community is facing budgetary issues this year. But we can’t afford any loss of bed inventory. That’s the reality.”
