Just a few blocks from the San Diego waterfront, a former Pacific Street motel has quietly traded tourists for tenants in crisis. Harbortay House, a new transitional shelter for young adults, now fills those rooms with 18 to 24-year-olds who can stay nine months to a year as they work to get back on their feet. Operated by the nonprofit Urban Street Angels, the site offers 34 rooms and 54 beds and began taking in residents about two weeks ago.
According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, start-up money for Harbortay House came from the Lucky Duck Foundation and the David C. Copley Foundation. The County of San Diego and the Regional Task Force on Homelessness have stepped in to keep it running long term, with officials estimating the shelter could help about 100 young people each year. Inside, residents find food, basic supplies, case management, peer support and career-development services, part of a broader strategy to expand youth-focused shelter options across the region.
Urban Street Angels' model
Urban Street Angels, which operates Harbortay House, is not new to this work. The group already runs other housing programs for young people, including VisTAY House in Vista, and leans on a model that pairs short-term shelter with employment and skills training, intensive case management and peer support. Staff say the downtown address is no accident, since being close to county offices and transit should make it easier for residents to reach public benefits, health care and job opportunities.
What the numbers show
The timing of Harbortay House lines up with some notable shifts in the region’s homelessness data. The 2026 point-in-time count found 4,695 people in shelters and transitional housing, up from 4,191 in 2025, while the number of people living outdoors dropped to 5,108 from 5,714, according to a press release from the Regional Task Force on Homelessness. Transitional-age youth, those 18 to 24, saw one of the steepest declines, with unsheltered numbers falling about 26 percent year over year. Officials say youth-focused beds like the ones at Harbortay House are key to keeping that trend going by giving young people a safer place to stabilize and plug into services.
For the people staying there, the policy talk boils down to something more personal. Residents and staff have described the converted motel as a lifeline. “Without this community, I don’t know where I’d be,” one resident told The San Diego Union-Tribune. Staff members say the program gives you all the resources you really need while helping participants find work and permanent housing. Urban Street Angels and county leaders say they plan to track outcomes closely and keep chasing funding to ensure Harbortay House stays open.
