By SDCN Editor
San Diego, CA–Consistent with his commitment to transparency on how the city is addressing major issues, Mayor Todd Gloria and the City of San Diego’s Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department launched a new website that, for the first time, offers the public a comprehensive overview of programs and services for addressing homelessness.
“Homelessness is the top priority of my administration and I believe it’s imperative that the city provides to the public information on all that we are doing to address it,” Mayor Todd Gloria said. “The city has never before had a single repository for information on the various programs and services that are funded by taxpayer dollars. This new website puts that information at their fingertips.”
The city’s Communications Department and Department of Information Technology Web Team collaborated with Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department to develop the new site.
“This website gives the public insight into how the city collaborates with our partners to create facilities, programs, and services to help people end their homelessness,” said Hafsa Kaka, Director of Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department. “While this crisis is daunting, it’s important for San Diegans to know there are effective approaches to getting folks off the street and into housing, and our team is pursuing them.”
In developing the site, the team considered frequently asked questions surrounding programs and services, common inquiries from residents and business owners, and how best to provide information and assistance to people experiencing homelessness.
The new website now hosts:
- Programs and services with descriptions of the programs, locations, hours of operation, rules at specific shelters, and other key information.
- Processes and parameters for the coordinated intake system, inclement weather shelter program, and encampment clean-up and abatements, among others.
- Data and reports produced by the department or other agencies related to city-funded programs and services. This section will have future improvements as the city develops more reporting on data and its efforts.
- Success stories about individuals who have used the city’s programs to end their homelessness. Through the help of service providers, each person featured has granted permission for their story to be told.
The launch of the new Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department website follows the recent redesign of the San Diego Police Department website, in keeping with the promise of transparency in the city’s Strategic Plan.
