San Diego to receive $26M in homeless funds

July 7, 2026

By Gary Warth

San Diego will receive $25.8 million in state funds for local homeless programs, with much of the money going to shelters, diversion strategies and youth services.

City Council members made the funding official at their July 7 meeting by voting to accept the grant from the California Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Grant Program.

The money comes from the program’s sixth funding round, which requires at least half of the grant to go toward permanent housing solutions and sustaining existing interim housing.

HHAP 6 funding requirements also call for spending at least 10% on services for homeless unaccompanied youth between the ages of 12 and 24, up to 7% to cover administrative costs and up to 1% for costs related to the Homeless Management Information System.

A joint application for the funding was submitted in August 2025 by the city in partnership with the County of San Diego and RTFH.

The California Housing and Community Development Department notified the applicants on Dec. 23 that the city would receive $25.8 million, the County would receive $12 million and RTFH would receive $12.9 million.

The city plans to divide the Round 6 money into four categories.

• Operating Subsidies – Interim Housing: $17,965,101
• Prevention and Shelter Diversion:  $2,250,000
• Youth: $4,023,253
• Administrative Costs $1,605,813

Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department Director Sarah Jarman said prevention and shelter diversion expenses will include family reunification, the housing instability prevention program and the city’s new diversion program.

Operating subsidies and interim housing will include the 16th Street and Newton Avenue bridge shelter, the single-adult and senior interim shelter, the women and family shelter, the Salvation Army’s interim family shelter and the Travel Lodge family shelter.

In explaining the ratio that has the shelter system receiving the bulk of the funds, Jarman said the application was part of a regional plan made collectively with the city, the County and the RTFH.

The city will receive half the funds up front and will receive the second half after it has contractual obligations for 75% of the money and has spent at least half of the initial disbursement by June 30, 2027.

All HHAP Round 6 funds must be spent by June 30, 2029.

The city’s original application for Round 6 funding included about $2.5 million to support its safe parking program.

Jarman said that because safe parking is not considered a housing-focused program, which is emphasized in Round 6, the application was revised to instead fund additional shelter beds.

In turn, $2,480 from the general fund that had been allocated for shelter operations was shifted to support the city’s safe parking program.

The city of San Diego has received HHAP grants at every funding round, beginning with $22.5 million in Round 1 in 2020.

San Diego also received $10.6 million in 2021, $27.5 million in 2022, $22.4 million in 2023 and $29.9 in 2025.

Jarman said Round 7 funding will be $900 million, significantly more than previously anticipated, and the city could receive between $26 million and $30 million.