The San Diego City Council voted 5-0 on July 19 to approve final financing for a 23-unit transitional housing facility designed to stabilize lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and HIV-positive youth, which is located at 1640 Broadway in downtown’s East Village. District 5 council member Brian Maienschein was the only council member not present for the vote. The facility, called the Sunburst Apartments, will aim to help youth successfully transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency. It’s the first of its kind in the nation and will provide supportive housing for young adults ages 18-24.

“The Sunburst Project will provide a safe haven for young people who need shelter and guidance,” said Deputy Mayor Toni Atkins. “I am personally pleased to have been a part of this project, and that the city of San Diego made a financial commitment to help direct the lives of these teenagers and stop the cycle of homelessness and despair.”

The property is currently occupied and The Center will follow a legal process to help those tenants relocate, Jacobs said. She expects youth to be able to move into the facility as early as November. They anticipate full occupancy by December.

The total financing for the property was approved for 55 years in an amount of $4,123,000, with $2,545,000 coming from the Centre City Development Corporation. Based on an average stay of 18 months per tenant, 843 youth who will likely be housed in that time span.

“The actual stay for each youth may be shorter and it may be longer,” Jacobs said. “…In supportive housing models the length of stay is tailored to the specific needs and situation of each individual youth.”

The total costs associated with predevelopment, inspections, fees and actual acquisition of the building was $3,348,000. The building and land have an appraised value of $3,100,000. Direct costs for building rehabilitation, relocation costs, financing costs and indirect costs account for the rest of the funding.

The financing was complex and took a total of six months to finalize. It involved consulting with county and city staff, advisory community groups such as the East Village Association, and presenting the project to the County Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS committee and the Housing Commission before final approval from the County Board of Supervisors.

The youth housing project is a collaborative of The Center, Walden Family Services, YMCA Youth and Family Services, Metropolitan Community Church of San Diego and Children’s Hospital Chadwick Center.

In 2002 Dr. Heather Berberet, director of mental health at Walden Family Services, the Reverend Tony Freeman of the Metropolitan Community Church, Atkins, former Center board member Jennifer LeSar and The Center’s chief executive officer Delores Jacobs formed the collaborative with other agencies that specialize in youth homelessness.

The collaborative estimates of all homeless youth in San Diego County, 30 percent are believed to be GLBT.

Originally the collaborative anticipated finding about 100 youth to interview for the study, but they identified 400 LGBTQ+ homeless youth during three months of the study. The Hillcrest Youth Center sees about 100-150 of these homeless youth each month.

“The needs assessment confirmed what the Hillcrest Youth Center staff continues to see every day; there are hundreds of homeless LGBT youth on our San Diego streets – some estimate as many as 30-45 percent of homeless youth are LGBT youth – and too few programs designed to address their needs,” said Jacobs.

Jacobs explained there are emergency shelters in San Diego County that LGBTQ+ youth can utilize, but they are limited in their ability to house these youth because stay is limited to 14-30 days. Other transitional housing programs have an 18-24-month timeframe for completion of the program, but none currently offer permanent supportive affordable housing.

Centre City Development Corporation’s Social Issues Strategy was developed in 1993 and identified affordable housing as a key solution to reducing homelessness. The San Diego Regional Task Force on Homelessness estimates there are approximately 110 homeless youth on the streets at any given time. According to the Corporation for Supportive Housing, up to 40 percent of youth leaving the foster care system without being adopted become homeless.

Jacobs said the issue of sexual orientation is a main factor in why this housing facility is crucial.

“Most of these youth said they didn’t utilize other services, or had difficulty when they did, because of their sexual orientation, gender or HIV status,” she said. “In order to protect themselves from discrimination from providers, or violence from other youth service recipients, many said they felt the need to hide the truth about who they are. With this new project, we will begin to help change that.”

LeSar, whose background in community development and affordable housing was a valuable factor in the progression of the project, said, “I’m thrilled that we got our last needed public approval and that we can move to close the financing and begin the rehabilitation so that we can open and serve youth later this year.”

The 13,900 square-foot property located near Garfield High School and City College has 24 units due to be renovated, one of which will be occupied by an onsite manager. The Association for Community Housing Solutions, a non-profit social service agency specializing in housing and support services for the homeless, will manage the property and provide the resident manager.

A ramp on the side of the building, two ADA adaptable units and a lift to the lower level community space will be constructed in late August to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The upgrades are expected to be completed in early November.

All of the units have recently been renovated with updated electrical wiring, plumbing, kitchens and appliances, and the roof was recently replaced. The facility also has a sprinkler system, safety lights and security cameras.

The Center will provide supportive services through its Hillcrest Youth Center. Patrick Loose, director of youth services at The Center, will coordinate much of the support services, which will include drug and alcohol treatment, professional mental health and counseling services, youth case management, health and HIV/STD education, basic medical care, job training and employment services, educational resources and tutoring, basic financial planning and fundamental life skills training.

The Center plans to start the process of interviewing and selecting staff for the project this month, and is currently taking tenant referrals from various youth programs, shelters, foster care agencies, social workers and their Hillcrest Youth Center.

After a youth has been referred and has made contact, they will be evaluated by case management and the professional project team staff to determine what their individual needs are and what types of programs and placements will be best for them.

Jacobs said The Center will be making educational and outreach efforts once they have established a firm move-in date.

“Each youth is an individual, with specific needs, and each one has to be individually assessed and have a care plan that is specifically designed for them,” Jacobs said. “One size does not fit all in this case.”