<p></p>
<p>When the cold and the rain hit the region, Father Joe’s Villages steps up and helps San Diego’s homeless with extra temporary shelter.<br>
As San Diego’s largest homeless services provider, Father Joe’s Villages has been empowering people to achieve self-sufficiency for the last 66 years.<br>
Each day of the year, 1,800 homeless people have a place to stay overnight through the organization’s programs including transition shelters and affordable housing across all San Diego. However the need for services increases during winter’s colder and wet weather; up to 250 people more come use the charity’s temporarily expanded shelter services.<br>
“On colder and wet nights, we offer shelter to more people. We give them a meal, then we take the tables out of our dining room and put some beds, and convert the place into a shelter,” said Deacon Jim Vargas, President and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages. “The next morning, we put the tables again and we serve breakfast. We also offer them a place to shower, and dry clothes because often times people come in soaking wet. We are blessed to be able to do it, but it also comes with financial burdens.”<br>
The expenses increase for the organization because of the need for extra security guards and extra staff during expanded services season. There are also the increased costs for more food, clothing, and beds that are needed for those nights.<br>
Donations are needed throughout the year to keep these expanded temporarily services as well as other programs, such as Father Joe’s Villages’ Day Center, which offers a place to shower, receive mail, and electricity so homeless people can charge their phones. This year, approximately 7,000 different people have visited the day center.<br>
“The homeless situation in San Diego is in crisis proportions,” the deacon said. “We have the fourth largest homeless population in the country. San Diego also has the second largest homeless populations of veterans in the country. This is pretty severe because we are not the fourth or second largest city in the country.”<br>
One day a year at the end of January, volunteers go out throughout the county and count the number of homeless people. This year’s count was 8,700 homeless living in San Diego streets. But the actual homeless population is expected to be almost as double that number.<br>
And at least 5,000 of the 8,700 homeless counted, including men, women, and children don’t have any kind of shelter at any given night.<br>
“We depend on donations to provide our services,” added Deacon Vargas.<br>
People interested in donating to Father Joe’s Villages can go to www.neighbor.org or call 1-800-homeless.</p>