By Gary Warth
April 21, 2026
SAN DIEGO – A strategy that has shown success in keeping people from falling into homelessness will get a boost from the county through a new investment of up to $1.1 million.
“I think it’s kind of an example of a program that works, and works for a fairly low cost,” Board of Supervisors Chair Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer said about the Homeless Diversion Program.
The board’s April 21 unanimous approval of the funding will be leveraged with philanthropic partnerships that are expected to bring the total to $2 million.
The program diverts people from the shelter system and homelessness by providing emergency funding in a time of need. As Lawson-Remer explained, that need could be a missed paycheck, a major medical bill or just a car repair needed to keep a job.
RTFH introduced diversion strategies in San Diego County in 2018, and in 2022 a data and cost analysis found more than 1,400 households had been served with the strategy and 85% remained stably housed.
The county’s initial involvement with the Homeless Diversion Program came In 2023 with a partnership with RTFH and philanthropic organizations that generated $1.5 million.
That money was deployed across 28 community-based organizations countywide, and 489 households consisting of almost 600 people received help avoiding homelessness.
On average, the program provided a one-time funding of $3,150 per household.The investment is considered cost effective because it diverts people from a possible shelter stay that would cost $15,000 over six months.
Diversion also is considered efficient, as 96% of people who were helped with the program have retained stable housing after 12 months. According to a county staff report, the program accounted for 9% of all exits from homelessness across the region at its peak.
To fund the program, the county will reallocate $1.1 million from the Building Partnerships Program that had made funds available for community partners to buy sleeping cabins for emergency housing.
That program was deemed unsuccessful after only one grant was used to purchase six sleeping cabins.
“We’re taking the money from an ineffective program and giving it to a proven effective program,” said Lawson-Remer, who partnered with Supervisor Joel Anderson on the item.
The program will be administered by the San Diego Housing Commission, which has assisted more than 900 households since 2017 through its own diversion program.
