Cortez Hill

The team is very interested in getting a complete picture of homelessness in San Diego, so in addition to partnering with SUFK, we've also been visiting other homeless services throughout the city. Our first visit was a tour of Cortez Hill Family Center, a few blocks from StandUp. After walking up a HUGE hill to get there, we met with George, the director of the center, who showed us around. Cortez Hill is under construction at the moment, but normally they house about 50 families. The center provides what is known as transitional housing: each family can stay up to four months, and while they are there, a case manager helps them with finding permanent housing. They also get career counseling and other services, and the center also coordinates activities for kids and teens. The staff were incredibly friendly, letting us know about their jobs and explaining to interested team members what kind of education would be useful in order to get similar positions. They all seemed to be doing great despite the construction, which has forced them out of their normal office spaces.

Members of the team have also been volunteering at Cortez Hill to serve dinner and meet some of the residents. On Monday, Yves, Staci, and I also got to stay after dinner and play with some of the kids while their parents attended a parenting class. We were pretty excited about the opportunity, since all of the kids are adorable! I taught a couple how to play battleship, and was losing pretty badly when luckily I was saved by the end of the meeting. More team members will be going over to the center again tonight.