In the heart of Downtown San Diego, a beacon of hope emerges as the new Rachel’s Promise Center for Women and Children opens its doors, ready to serve as a shelter for women and families affected by homelessness. With a capacity to house 210 residents, this shelter has been created to offer a blend of safety, stability, and support. Mayor Todd Gloria hailed the center as a place where "dignity, safety, and hope" are paramount. In a social media post, Gloria emphasized the city's persistent efforts to provide shelter to those in dire need.
Today, we opened the new Rachel's Promise Center for Women and Children — a shelter for women and families experiencing homelessness. This shelter is a lifeline — a place of dignity, safety, and hope. We will not relent in our work to get people off the street and into shelter. pic.twitter.com/x3nqFTNcr9
— San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria (@MayorToddGloria) April 17, 2025
The San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC), in partnership with the City, underscores the growing necessity such a facility addresses, noting the rise in unhoused women and children seeking shelter; Councilmember Stephen Whitburn voiced pride for the project in his district, describing the shelter as a place filled with warmth and hope for the most vulnerable demography, which is women and children after all, they sit at a unique intersection of needs and risks when it comes to life on the streets.
Managed by Catholic Charities, Diocese of San Diego, this joint effort between public, private, and nonprofit sectors provides more than just shelter—it allows for the potential rebuilding of lives through tailored services. According to Lisa Jones, President and CEO of SDHC, the shelter support structure is designed to assist residents toward housing and self-sufficiency. Appaswamy “Vino” Pajanor, CEO of Catholic Charities, elaborated on this point, explaining to SDHC how each resident would receive personalized, trauma-informed coaching and care.
The shelter represents a public-private collaboration, with local property owners Dene Oliver and Jim McMillan deeply involved in the planning and donating furniture and equipment. The SDHC administers referrals for individuals and families to enter the program, which offers not just a place to sleep, meals, and clothing but also crucial services such as housing-focused case management and access to health care resources. This enables those seeking shelter to look forward eagerly to their next chapter, which one hopes could be improved from the past.
Funding for Rachel's Promise Center for Women and Children's initial months will amount to approximately $1.6 million from the City, with annual running costs projected at around $5.3 million. The numbers tell a story of an increasing need, given that women and girls have gone from making up 29.1 percent of the population in City and SDHC-funded homelessness programs in 2020 to roughly 42 percent in 2024.
