C-HRT Safe Haven
Harm-reduction transitional housing for adults with chronic substance use and mental illness. No abstinence required. Operated by Episcopal Community Services & FHCSD.
Resources Directory
Trusted support, close to home.
A directory of shelters, transitional housing, behavioral health clinics, peer support warmlines, and advocacy organizations across San Diego County and California. Each one chosen for its commitment to dignity, safety, and lived-experience-led care.
- Emergency & Harm Reduction6
- Transitional Housing5
- Behavioral Health5
- Peer Support & Warmlines5
- Advocacy & Policy6
Emergency Shelter & Harm Reduction
6 ResourcesLow-barrier shelters, drop-in day centers, and harm-reduction housing for people in immediate need of safety, food, hygiene, and a place to rest.
Rachel's Women's Center
Drop-in day center for unhoused or low-income women: bathrooms, showers, laundry, lunch, clothing, mental health screening, and resource specialists. Open 7 AM–5 PM. Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego.
Rachel's Night Shelter & Promise
Emergency and interim sheltering for unhoused single women and women-headed households. Safe, low-barrier, semi-congregate spaces with life-skills coaching and evening meals.
San Diego Rescue Mission: 30-Day Navigation
Emergency intake and stabilization for adults seeking immediate exit from the street. Focus on dignity, basic survival needs, and triage into long-term residential programs.
Every Woman Housed
Intensive outreach, master leasing, and permanent supportive housing placement for unhoused women and gender-diverse individuals in LA County. Trauma-informed case management. LAHSA & Downtown Women's Center.
SafeSTAY Wellness Center Shelter
LGBTQ-affirming temporary housing for transition-age youth (18–24). 43 beds, low-barrier, with intensive supportive services tailored to queer youth. San Diego LGBT Community Center.
Transitional Housing
5 ResourcesLonger-term stays, typically 6 to 24 months, that bridge emergency shelter and independent living, paired with case management, life skills, and savings support.
Door of Hope: Transitional Living Center
28 units, up to 12 months for single mothers and children, including survivors of DV and SUD. Requires employment, savings development, case management, and gender-specific programming. Operated by The Salvation Army.
Women's Resource Center: Transitional House
23 apartments, up to 24 months for survivors of domestic violence. Bridges emergency abuse shelters to economic independence and self-sufficiency.
South Bay Community Services (SBCS)
Low-barrier emergency & transitional housing for families escaping domestic violence. Uniquely allows extended family and teenage sons. Individual counseling, food assistance, and wrap-around care.
Mission Academy: Women's Program
Long-term residential care for women seeking profound life transformation. Includes meals, vocational job training, comprehensive life-skills curriculum, and spiritual support. San Diego Rescue Mission.
East County Transitional Living Center (ECTLC)
Phased transitional housing serving over 450 unhoused men, women, and children daily. Holistic process aimed at ending chronic homelessness.
Behavioral Health & Addiction Treatment
5 ResourcesGender-responsive, trauma-informed clinical care: residential treatment, outpatient psychiatry, MAT, and dual-diagnosis programs.
North County Serenity House
114-bed residential treatment for women, perinatal mothers, and justice-involved individuals. MAT, withdrawal management, family reunification; mothers can reside with their children. HealthRIGHT 360.
Avery Lane: Women's Rehab & Veteran Program
Residential mental health, dual-diagnosis, PHP, and IOP for women with co-occurring disorders. Specialized tracks for female veterans and survivors of military sexual trauma; all-female veteran staff.
Areta Crowell Wellness Recovery Center
Outpatient psychiatric evaluation, medication management, and mobile outreach for adults with serious mental illness and co-occurring SUD. Integrated peer specialists and community-based goal setting. Community Research Foundation.
Promise Wellness Center
Outpatient specialty mental health, crisis intervention, and group therapy for diverse, marginalized adults with SMI/SUD. Holistic, culturally rooted, peer-connected care. Union of Pan Asian Communities.
Villa Kali Ma: The Retreat Trauma Center
Specialized trauma treatment retreats for women living with severe, complex trauma. Highly supportive environment designed for profound psychological and physiological healing.
Peer Support & Warmlines
5 ResourcesPhone lines, drop-in centers, and respite homes staffed by people with lived experience. Non-emergency emotional support and real-time resource navigation.
NAMI San Diego: Warmline & Helpline
Non-crisis emotional support and coping skills, daily 3:30 PM–11:00 PM, staffed entirely by certified Peer Support Specialists.
California Peer-Run Warm Line
Statewide phone & chat support for all California residents needing emotional help. Bilingual; third-party interpretation in 240+ languages. Mental Health Association of San Francisco.
Hacienda of Hope: Peer Respite
24/7 residential peer respite, a homelike crisis-management alternative to hospitalization. WRAP planning across the 8 Dimensions of Wellness. Project Return Peer Support Network.
Peer Wellness Collective
BIPOC-led drop-in centers, wellness groups, and tenant support programs. Comprehensive Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist training pathway.
Sierra Wind Drop-In Center
Drop-in support, daily meals, patients' rights advocacy, and specialized peer groups including MomCHAT (perinatal & postpartum) and Women-to-Women. Cal Voices.
Advocacy, Policy & Legal Aid
6 ResourcesState and national networks that secure funding, fight systemic barriers, and provide legal defense: eviction, benefits, immigration, and disability.
National Women's Shelter Network (NWSN)
National advocacy for women and families experiencing homelessness. Aggregates data, runs needs surveys, and lobbies for equitable federal funding for women's shelters.
Housing California
Statewide policy advocacy that centers lived experience via the Residents United Network. Lobbies legislators for Rapid Re-Housing expansion and permanent funding.
CDSS Housing & Homelessness Division
California Department of Social Services administers CalWORKs HA, HSP, and HDAP: emergency shelter payments, security deposits, rental subsidies, and disability benefits advocacy.
Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP)
Holistic legal defense for unhoused individuals and families: eviction defense, SSI benefits acquisition, and immigration documentation stabilization.
National Coalition for the Homeless
National grassroots advocacy run primarily by individuals with lived experience (80% of staff). Advises government agencies and trains organizations to elevate unhoused voices.
SAMHSA: Homelessness Programs (PATH & TIEH)
Federal grants funding peer support, SMI/SUD treatment, outreach, and permanent-housing connections across all 50 states.
About this directory. These resources are curated from public records and verified provider listings. Information changes; please confirm current availability and eligibility by phone or web before visiting. If you need help making contact or navigating any of these services, reach out to The Empower Collective at 619-889-8728 or empower.collective.sv@gmail.com and a Peer Support Specialist will walk through it with you.
Sources & Citations