SAN DIEGO (JUNE 4, 2025)—-About 200 people living in encampments in Oceanside and Carlsbad will move directly into housing this year as part of a new approach coordinated by The Regional Task Force on Homelessness.
The cities received a combined $11.4 million from the state’s Encampment Resolution Fund to house at least 196 people and provide services for 350 people in all. The coordinated effort involved a half dozen partners and is the first of its kind in the county, and it soon will be repeated in Lemon Grove.
“These are exciting and unprecedented times of collaboration among the City of Oceanside, the City of Carlsbad, and the City of Lemon Grove,” said RTFH Chief Operations Officer Lahela Mattox. “These are much needed and welcomed resources and we are demonstrating our deep commitment to each other and to our unhoused community to work collectively in ending homelessness and bringing not only critical resources but people who are passionate about working in our communities.”
Work on the Buena Vista Creek encampment in Oceanside will continue until July 15, when the area will be cleared and returned to its natural state.
Almost everyone in the encampment has accepted offers for help and housing, said Oceanside management analyst Sofia Hughes, the project lead.
“There’s a lot of people that have just given up hope in some ways,” said Michael Aplikowsky of Convicted 4 Christ, a nonprofit that has performed outreach in an Oceanside encampment. “I think by coming in with this project, with this program, we’re bringing some hope into this area.”
To learn more about the effort, read the full story by clicking here.
For interviews with people involved in the project, contact RTFH Director of Government Relations, Policy and Communications Gary Warth at gary.warth@rtfhsd.org or 760-500-7246.
About the Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFH): The Regional Task Force on Homelessness’ mission is to reduce and end homelessness in San Diego, ensuring that if this situation does happen for anyone, it remains a rare, brief and non-recurring instance; not an outcome. As the Continuum of Care lead agency in San Diego County, RTFH administers many of the core federal requirements from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. RTFH also serves as a strategic planning body, funder, regional convener, promoter of best practices, trainer, policy leader, and advisor in San Diego’s collective efforts to end homelessness. For more information, please visit: www.rtfhsd.org
