As part of the City of San Diego’s ongoing effort to provide more shelter options for people experiencing homelessness, a 34-bed shelter exclusively for women reopened this week at San Diego’s old Central Library. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) San Diego will operate the overnight shelter and provide case management, access to social services and housing navigation services.  

Mayor Todd Gloria initially proposed using the site during his 2022 State of the City Address. The shelter was opened last January as a temporary facility to comply with Mayor Gloria’s directive to examine every opportunity for new shelters. It closed in July 2023 due to permitting restrictions, but reopened on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. A temporary permit the City has to operate the library as a shelter is limited to 180 days within a 12-month timeframe.  

“These additional beds reflect my firm commitment to use every City resource possible to get people off the street and into care,” Mayor Todd Gloria said. “We will continue to use the old Central Library to shelter people experiencing homelessness until we are ready to redevelop this site into additional shelter space and affordable housing.”  

 During the six months of shelter operations in 2023, the library served 152 people with 25 of them exiting to permanent or long-term housing. Future discussions for the City-owned property include the potential for transforming it into a long-term shelter with affordable housing. 

“We need to continue the progress we’re making in helping people get off the streets and into safer and healthier places,” said Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, who represents District 3, which includes Downtown. “The reopening of the shelter at the old Central Library will offer an additional short-term opportunity for unhoused women. In the long-term, I look forward to this site being redeveloped into a mix of shelter and affordable housing where many more people will receive the assistance they need to get back on their feet.”   

The City recently worked with NAMI San Diego and Healthcare in Action to address longstanding homeless encampments in the area surrounding the old Central Library, from Broadway to F Street, and Seventh to 10th avenues in East Village. A $2.45 million Encampment Resolution Grant from the State of California helped 19 people sleeping near the library transition to permanent housing; another 71 people were placed into shelter. 

“Right now, this is the best use of the old Central Library in Downtown. Our Comprehensive Shelter Strategy provides a number of non-traditional options to shelter more San Diegans in need,” said Sarah Jarman, Director of the city’s Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department. “All options are on the table for discussion, from warehouses to unused facilities and parking lots.” 

 The old Central Library shelter will only be open overnight.