Youth Homelessness

Homelessness is arguably San Diego’s most pressing social issue. It is widely accepted that more than 1,500 youth are among the homeless in San Diego County, and tragically approximately half of the chronically homeless adult population suffered from homelessness as youth. Our committee focuses on helping youth so they can move off the streets once and for all, thus ending the cycle of homelessness.
Until recently our club supported “Storefront,” the only emergency youth shelter in our city for those under the age of 18. Now, with the outreach and connections of Chairman Drew Moser of the Lucky Duck Foundation and Vice Chair Ginny Ollis, we are serving several homeless youth organizations designated for those 25 years and younger including:

San Diego Youth Services
Youth Assistance Coalition
Urban Street Angels

Our work activities include:

Serving Meals
Providing bus passes, uber passes, hygiene kits, move-in kits and furnishing
One-on-one mentoring, training and learning to “be a friend”
Hiring youth
Rotarians at work day
Funding where possibly we can

Our committee meets periodically for a service projects at the shelters.
Why Join? Getting involved in our Rotary San Diego youth homeless committee can be a meaningful and impactful way to contribute to your community while address a pressing social issue. Here are several reasons why you might consider getting involved:

Address a critical issue
Make a difference
Community building
Advocacy and awareness
Personal fulfillment
Networking with your fellow Rotarians
Promote positive change
Personal growth

If you can’t join us, you can help by referring to catering and printing to “Timmy’s Place”, a delicious and reasonable pizza, sandwich, and pastries, AND printing services of all kinds operated by homeless youth—and it is expanding. It is located on the west side of 5th Ave between Ash and Beech Streets where, for some reason, parking is always available on both sides of the street!
The best reward for engaging with this work is being inspired by the amazing courage of these young people!