SAN DIEGO — Requests for emergency shelter beds skyrocketed in January while the number of people given beds plummeted, according to new data from the San Diego Housing Commission released during a February 16 board meeting.
Out of every 100 requests for a bed in January 2024, only 11 were granted, the lowest placement rate that the commission has seen since it began keeping track of placements into emergency shelter beds.
In all, there were a total of 2,613 requests for a shelter bed last month. Only 278 were placed into a bed, or only 11 percent. Compare that to October 2023 when the commission reported that 20 percent of those looking for a bed were given one.
Heavy winter storms may be one reason for the spike in requests, said Housing Commission executive, Casey Snell, while the drop in direct placements was largely blamed on the loss of beds due to the closure of shelters at 16th and Newton as well as Rachel's Promise.
In January shelters, not including the city tent sites because the city does not include those locations in the overall shelter numbers, remained 99 percent occupied according to the Housing Commission.
Equally troubling, the monthly housing commission report showed that the requests for beds increased by more than 1,000 following the January 22 storm that flooded entire communities and encampments, both city-run and illegal encampments close to the San Diego River.
"Just to be clear, we are not talking about the 1,000 people that had already been identified as being displaced, this is a different 1,000," said Housing Commissioner Ryan Clumpner. "We're referring to a different category of people that were seeking shelter, not the 1,000 people who were housed before the 22nd."
Adding to the already stressed system is the housing commission's work to place those people who had to leave their homes during the January 22 storm. According to the housing commission, there were 388 requests for hotels through January.
