For the first time in a decade, San Diego posted its sharpest one-year decline in homelessness on record: 13.5% fewer people experiencing homelessness inside city limits, and a 7% decrease countywide. Unsheltered families dropped a staggering 72%, veterans fell 25%, and transitional-age youth decreased by 22%. Real progress or is it simply the effect of increasingly criminalized homelessness? Either way, it’s a milestone worth examining.
Still, more than 3,300 San Diegans will sleep outside tonight—on the same beaches tourists post about on Instagram, in the canyons where children hike on weekends, or in cars parked outside city offices where budget debates will stretch for months.
While politicians argue over encampment ordinances, safe-parking maps, and which district deserves the next shelter, a working solution is already here. GiveARoof.org released The Homelessness Fix on August 8th a book offering a blueprint to end homelessness in the United States in just three years.
The soon-to-be national bestseller is not a feel-good tale of incremental change. It’s a practical, three-year playbook to finish the job San Diego’s 2025 numbers have already started. It doesn’t ask for new taxes or wait for Sacramento’s approval. Instead, it leverages resources Americans already own: $25 billion in expiring airline miles, hotel points, and credit-card rewards—enough to temporarily house every vetted unsheltered person in real hotel rooms while permanent solutions are built. The plan also benefits hotels with occupancy and cities through transient occupancy tax revenues a win-win approach.
Key components of the plan include:
- A centralized, real-time dashboard tracking each individual’s root cause of homelessness from eviction and job loss to domestic violence and medical debt so interventions are targeted and effective.
- Welcome centres that provide dignity and support from day one, rather than criminalizing people after weeks of survival on the streets.
- Non-profit “housing SWAT teams” capable of moving someone from the sidewalk into an apartment within 72 hours once the system gives the green light.
San Diego’s own success shows that rapid rehousing works. The 13% drop came from adding beds, cutting through bureaucratic delays, and prioritizing families and veterans. The Homelessness Fix demonstrates how to scale these wins to reach 100%. Every copy sold funds GiveARoof.org’s mission to house 1,000 Americans per day by 2028 with San Diego as a flagship city proving the model is achievable.
The data is promising. The plan is actionable. And the message is clear: we don’t have to wait another decade to reach zero homelessness. Thirteen percent is not a finish line it’s the starting.
Read the book. Share the plan. End the debate
Media Contact Details:
Name: Claudio Bono
Email Address: [email protected]
Instagram: @cbinsiliconvalley
