Homes for Heroes: How San Diego Helped 1,000 Homeless Vets

The San Diego Housing Commission has reached a big goal in helping homeless veterans – finding secure housing for 1,000 of America's heroes.  

The commission was able to complete the task in less than 18 months after the $12.5 million program was announced by San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer back in March of 2016.

"It's fantastic news," Faulconer said. "We're getting people housed and getting them off the street."

SDHC President and CEO RIck Gentry said 1,007 veterans were now off the streets and living in secure rental housing. In addition, 200 more veterans have also qualified and are next in line for housing.

Even though their goal has been reached, Faulconer and Gentry said the effort will continue and will be expanded to include non-veterans.

Gentry said he anticipates an additional 1,000 homeless people will be housed in the next 15 months using the Housing Our Heroes formula.

"My goal was 1,000 people off the street," Faulconer told The San Diego Union Tribune. "To hit it was incredibly rewarding, and it led to a program that can now be expanded."

Not every landlord would consider renting to a homeless person. So the city paved the way with incentives.

Landlords who agreed to the program received $500 for the first units they rented to a homeless veteran and $250 for each additional unit. In addition, they received around $1,500 in security deposits and $100 in utility assistance per household.

Jimmie Robinson is a landlord who took in seven homeless veterans during the Housing Our Heroes initiative.

Robinson said, for him, the incentives were not the greatest motive for taking in homeless veterans.

"When you get to meet them, the satisfaction of helping people turn their lives around was more important," he told the newspaper. "When you see somebody rebuilding their lives, that's what it's become for me, more than the incentives."

The initiative is just one of several steps launched by the city to help the homeless population.