Encinitas to send local homeless people to National City shelter

By Gary Warth

Sept. 16, 2026

Homeless people in Encinitas will be offered shelter and services at the San Diego Rescue Mission’s South County Lighthouse navigation center in National Center under an agreement passed unanimously by the City Council on Sept. 16.

Despite concerns about sending people from the North County coastal city to a shelter about 35 miles to the south, council members said they saw the decision as the right move in light of the Rescue Mission’s success with outreach in Encinitas and because it would be only a temporary situation until a new North County shelter opens. 

The move also will be less expensive than it would cost to continue using 12 of the 48 beds at the Buena Creek Navigation Center in Vista, which Encinitas has done since signing a memorandum of understanding with Vista in 2023.

The decision to contract with a new navigation center may have been a fait accompli. The MOU with Vista expires Sept. 30, and Encinitas Mayor Bruce Ehlers said it’s doubtful Encinitas would be able to use the Vista shelter after that. 

“I don’t think the Buena Creek Navigation Center was an option to continue anyway,” Ehlers said. “I’ve had discussions with the mayor (John Franklin of Vista) up there and several of the council members, and they’ve made it clear for the last year or two, maybe even three, that when this is done, it’s done. “

Retread Housing Services operates the Buena Creek Navigation Center, which opened in March 2024, and Vista leases the building from a private owner. The San Diego Rescue Mission has done homeless outreach for Vista city since 2024 and already is contracted to run a city-owned shelter for Vista once a site is found.

Rescue Mission Chief of Staff Paul Armstrong said his organization also is looking for a North County site to purchase for a North County Lighthouse similar to the one in National City.

Acknowledging that sending Encinitas homeless people to South County is not ideal, Armstrong said a North County shelter could open in 12 to 18 months, and potential sites are considered weekly. 

Finding a North County property for a shelter has been a challenge for both entities. After a year of unsuccessfully searching for a site and facing a Dec. 31 expiration on its lease, the Vista City Council voted to extend its contract with Retread for another year at its Aug. 25 meeting.

Encinitas had provided 25% of the funding to run the Buena Creek Navigation Center, with Vista funding the other 75%. 

The San Diego Rescue Mission offered Encinitas the use of up to 12 beds at its South County Lighthouse for a projected annual cost of $334,000.

Homeless Programs Coordinator Crystal Pugh said the cost could be lower than that because the Rescue Mission would only charge Encinitas for any beds used by people from the city, and data from the Vista shelter shows not all 12 beds are used each night.

Encinitas was awarded $685,000 over five years from the state’s Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program, and $226,000 is available now to go toward the cost of using the South County Lighthouse.

In another benefit to using the South County site, Pugh also said the Rescue Mission is certified for CalAIM (California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal), which will provide homeless Encinitas residents with access to personalized medical and behavioral health services and housing-related support. CalAIM billing could reduce the city’s contract cost by about 5 to 10%, she said.

Encinitas council members also said they have been impressed with the Rescue Mission’s performance in their city. The Rescue Mission has performed outreach in the city since November 2025, and in May the city amended its contract for SDRM to also provide housing navigation.

Pugh said since its first contract through June, the Rescue Mission has enrolled 144 people in their housing-readiness progress, and 15 have moved into permanent housing and another 86 moved into temporary or transitional housing.

While City Council members were unanimously in choosing the South County Navigation Center, there were concerns about its distance from Encinitas.

“My only concerns are that it is further away,” Councilmember Joy Lyndes said. “We are bringing people who have found themselves homeless in Encinitas to geographically a very remote place. And sometimes that can be a challenge for the proper care and right choices for an individual that they’re not near their support group.

“In that regard, I would say it’s not our ideal,” she continued. “I think though that we acknowledge that, and SDRM acknowledges, and I would support your pursuit to continue to find solutions in North County and understand that it is difficult, but it’s well needed.”

Similar concerns were raised by members of the public during the meeting.

“Relocating individuals who are experiencing homelessness 30 miles south disrupts their local support networks, family ties and daily routines,” said resident Bob Kent, who supported using the Rescue Mission shelter but only as a temporary solution until a North County one is created.

John Van Cleef, CEO of the nonprofit Community Resource Center in Encinitas, did not attend the council meeting but later agreed that sending homeless people from North County to South County was not ideal.

“There are significant risks associated with displacement and relocation,” he said. “The outcomes of people who are relocated, especially not by choice, are lower in terms of success and sustainability.”

Sheltering homeless people away from their own city can upset their connections to family, friends, healthcare and employment, he said as examples.

But Van Cleef also acknowledged that the city has been actively addressing homelessness during the past two years and has directed more resources to the issue.

“That’s something to be acknowledged and credited and appreciated”, he said, adding that addressing homelessness is complex.

“I feel the council’s angst about what to do, and they’re doing something,” he said. “It’s a tough situation.”