In February, the City announced that Golden Hall, which was never intended to serve permanently as a shelter, would eventually be closed and the individuals housed there would be moved to new shelters.  

Since then, the City has been busy relocating people staying at our temporary shelter at Golden Hall, first focusing on moving the families and youth into new shelters and housing.  

Marcus and Lashana were staying in beds reserved for transition-age youth ages 18-24 at Golden Hall. The young couple is now happily housed in a former hotel-turned-shelter in Midway where they have their own room.  

“Now we have our privacy, our comfortability, a bathroom, we have our little kitchen,” said Marcus. “It feels a little better.”  

Marcus’ wife, Lashana, is pregnant, so the end goal for the married couple is permanent housing. 

Marcus just recently got a job at a nearby store, and he and Lashana are working with their case manager, getting closer every day to being able to rent their own apartment. 

"We want to raise our baby in a proper, clean household, and be happy,” Marcus said. “We’re getting closer to that.”  

The transition-age youth formerly housed at the City's Golden Hall shelter are now being sheltered at two sites and served by Urban Street Angels and the San Diego LGBT Community Center with the help of San Diego Youth Services and the YMCA of San Diego County. 

Marcus and Lashana said they’re grateful for all the help and support they’ve gotten as they’ve gone from living in a car, to staying at Golden Hall, to moving into a hotel shelter. They are now just a few steps away from moving into their own apartment, thanks in part to the help of Alpha Project's Rapid Re-Housing Program, which provides rental assistance and security deposits as well as landlord advocacy. 

“I just want to be able to give my child what we were unable to get as children,” Marcus said. “Like a nice life where they go to school and they're happy. And they come home and they're like, ‘Oh yeah, I get to go home to mom and dad. I can't wait to go home.’”