SAN DIEGO — For decades, the San Diego Rescue Mission has been on the front lines of addressing the needs of people experiencing homelessness. Now, they’re planning to expand beyond their downtown San Diego location to other areas of the county.
“These are our sleeping areas and closet for my son, Avante.” said Venkateswar Rao Vadlamudi while showing CBS 8 his accommodations. “This is my little workstation here.”
He and his son, Avante, have been staying at the San Diego Rescue Mission for the past year.
“This is my normal drawer, it looks stuffed, I put all my stuff in here,” said 8-year-old Avante Vadlamudi, who is going into the third grade next month at Porter Elementary School.
“These were made from stamps and it’s also made of paint,” said Avante while holding up two art projects from school.
57-year-old Vadlamudi remembers the feeling of comfort and security when he and his son first walked in the door at San Diego Rescue Mission at a time when they had nowhere else to go.
“There is something about this place,” said Vadlamudi. “You know, you feel that coziness and security and some kind of a harmonious feeling, I had that feeling.”
He, along with 48 others, recently graduated from a year-long program at San Diego Rescue Mission that offers a holistic approach with supportive classes and job training.
“It’s just super exciting because there’s not a magic wand to this, it’s good, old-fashioned hard work and they put in the work and our team works really hard,” said Paul Armstrong, Vice President of Programs.
The San Diego Rescue Mission just launched its Every Heart campaign with a goal of raising $5 million dollars by the end of the year to renovate its facilities.
“What we know is that environment matters, so when we can provide a quality environment for someone coming in off the streets where they can actually feel that they’ve been seen, valued, that they’re being treated with dignity and respect,” said Armstrong. “All those factors, they feed into how we’re able to be so successful.”
The funds raised will also help the nonprofit expand across the county with a new navigation center in Oceanside opening later this month with 50 shelter beds, and a new facility in National City opening early next year with 162 emergency shelter beds.
“The fact that we’re able to bring shelter beds online is super exciting for us because we want to be a part of the solution,” said Armstrong.
As for Vadlamudi, he is working on an Associate’s Degree in cybersecurity and is optimistic for the future.
“It’s a total transformation. I’m not the old Vive anymore,” said Vadlamudi. “This is a new identity for me in my life.”
To help the cause, CBS 8 recently presented a TEGNA Foundation check for $7,500 to the San Diego Rescue Mission.