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Over 400 families still displaced, living in hotels months after catastrophic floods

In April, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved an extension to the voucher program that allows displaced families to stay in local hotels.

SAN DIEGO — May 22 marks four months since a powerful storm hit San Diego and displaced hundreds of families in the Southeastern part of the city.           

San Diego's Housing Commission gave city councilmembers an in Tuesday an in-depth look at the work to help flood victims.

There are over 400 families that are still staying in local hotels, through the city's temporary lodging program. But the program is set to expire next month. 

“They lost everything, not just their housing, they’ve lost a lot of the resources they had at their disposal," said Lisa Jones, President, CEO San Diego Housing Commission. "A lot of these families have high barriers; they were still recovering in a lot of other ways.”

Hundreds of households across San Diego still face an uphill climb to get back into permanent housing. 

“Our focus is standing up programs that can help people get back into permanent or longer-term housing solutions before that program ends," said Jones.

Nearly four months after catastrophic storms swept through the region, data from The San Diego Housing Authority shows 443 families are currently living in hotels.

“The average income of folks we’ve seen is about $1,700 a month. So these are extremely low-income families that are going to need some additional support and assistance," Jones added.

The Housing Authority went into detail about how it visited families displaced by the storm. So far it has checked in with 130 families to get an idea of what they need right now. Some of issues included problems with landlords or needs for repairs.

The housing authority went on to say a lot more work is needed to help those still without a home.

“The goal is to find out whether folks can return to their previous homes, whether landlords will have repairs made by that time or not, if they need to move to a new home," said Jones.

In April, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved an extension to the voucher program that allows displaced families to stay in local hotels. 

The help is set to expire June 21.

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