Leave No Veteran Homeless

Leave No Veteran Homeless is a collaborative effort of veteran-serving organizations led by the County of San Diego. The County is pursuing Functional Zero where veteran homelessness is rare, brief, and nonrecurring. To date, the County and its partners have identified housing solutions and supportive services for those who served in our Armed Forces, but it is clear more needs to be done to reach Functional Zero.

A regional Strategic Plan (Plan) with an implementation framework outlines the necessary actions to achieve Functional Zero. It is focused on maximizing resources to ensure the County's steps meet the housing needs of San Diego’s veterans and aligns with the County's core values of integrity, belonging, excellence, access, sustainability, and equity.

Your feedback will help implement the Strategic Plan's framework and shape ways we can continue to make veteran homelessness rare in San Diego.

How can you take part in the process?

• Stay informed by reviewing the information on this site
• Share this information with others
• Ask questions and share how you can help end veteran homelessness through the engagement tools below

Background

San Diego County is home to one of the country’s largest concentrations of veterans in the nation. This includes hundreds of veterans experiencing homelessness.

On February 7, 2023, the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to create the “Leave No Veteran Homeless” initiative and directed the development of a strategic plan to determine the necessary County resources essential to achieving Functional Zero.

In March 2023, the County began work with regional, state and federal partners to develop the Plan and its implementation framework to achieve Functional Zero. The Plan outlines efforts to increase community awareness around the scope of veteran homelessness and how to end it, along with creating opportunities for community input and collaboration. The Plan identifies partners, roles and responsibilities, as well as metrics, to quantify progress and ensure accountability.

Data shows that 1 in every 8 San Diegans is either active duty, a veteran, or a family member or friend of a service member. According to the Regional Task Force on Homelessness, California has a high concentration of veterans experiencing homelessness, 11,000, with more than 900 in San Diego County,

Regionwide efforts have made a significant impact, lowering the number of veterans experiencing homelessness by 27% from 2020 to 2022, but veteran homelessness remains a significant challenge.

In developing the Strategic Plan and its implementation framework, the County:

• Brought together subject matter experts from veteran-serving organizations and agencies in the region
• Gathered input from stakeholders
• Engaged in dialogue with local landlords
• Formulated working groups to focus on desired outcomes and associated actions to achieve solutions