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By Karen Pearlman
Photo by Miriam Raftery: An outreach volunteer speaks with a homeless woman in Lemon Grove near State Route 94
September 6, 2025 (Lemon Grove) — Lemon Grove has released its new strategic Homeless Action Plan 2025, a comprehensive document helping the city address the growing issue of housing instability. The City Council has previously allocated $250,000 to combat homelessness in the city, and the council and staff are now looking at several actionable goals to help make a dent in helping those experiencing homelessness.
The city has also started its first phase of using the $8.4 million State of California Encampment Resolution Funding Grant it received in March to address homelessness, eyeing rapid rehousing of individuals living in encampments along the state Route 94 corridor.
The funding has a two-year spending period and is managed by the Regional Task Force on Homelessness. The funding provides rental assistance, case management and wraparound services, including mental health counseling and substance abuse care, as a way to help move those experiencing homelessness into permanent housing.
The Homeless Action Plan will supplement the grant work and existing efforts that also include County of San Diego Office of Homeless Solutions and Equitable Communities Department Pilot Program that provides outreach, case management, access to CalFresh and Medi-Cal and housing navigation to Lemon Grove’s unhoused population.
“Kudos to the City Council that… decided to opt for change and they decided to try new things,” said Lemon Grove Mayor Alysson Snow. “We’re like ‘The Little Engine That Could.’ We just keep trying and trying. We’re small but we’re mighty.
“We had the audacity to think that we could do something to change and reverse homelessness in our community and actually get people housed and get people services. And just providing housing is not enough. You have to provide housing plus services. That is the only proven model that works, and that’s what the city has been able to provide and so I’m really proud of how far we have come in our approach to handling homelessness.”
National Crisis of Homeless Issues
Lemon Grove is only one piece in a complex national crisis of growth in homelessness, but the city is joining a growing number of communities with plans to fight the trend with real-time work.
Recent data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and other sources show that the number of people experiencing homelessness in the United States continues to rise. In 2024, the total homeless population was estimated at more than 770,000, representing a record 18% increase from the previous year. This is the highest level since the Point-in-Time counts began in 2007.
According to the 2025 Point-in-Time Count survey organized in January by the RTFH, 110 individuals were found sleeping outside or in vehicles in Lemon Grove. The figure, which only accounts for unsheltered residents since the city has no emergency shelters, is widely considered an undercount. (The count also does not include those who live with friends or family, individuals in hospitals or jails, or those who “couch surf.”)
The city’s total of homeless individuals counted during the one-day snapshot that is the Point In Time Count was 111 in 2024. The number of unsheltered individuals in the city has doubled or nearly doubled every year before in recent years – 60 in 2023, 31 in 2022 and 18 in 2020.
A staff report by the city notes that Lemon Grove’s plan focuses on prevention and takes a regional approach to combating the issue of homelessness. The city believes that a regional approach is best because of the existing relationship between unhoused residents in Lemon Grove and the other East County cities based on the accessibility of these areas through public transit.
Lemon Grove has been part of community meetings, researched best practices and joined regional partnerships with neighboring La Mesa, El Cajon and Santee.
The extent of the issue is further highlighted by local school data -- the Lemon Grove School District has identified 264 students as housing-insecure. Helix Charter High School, which serves some of the Lemon Grove area, reports 52 students experiencing homelessness.
The McKinney-Vento Act, a federal law that ensures educational protections for homeless and housing-insecure youth, defines homelessness to include shared housing, trailer parks, and other non-traditional living situations.
The Lemon Grove Plan
The city’s Homeless Action Plan will follow a 3- to 5-year timeline of action-oriented initiatives to assist in getting unhoused residents off the streets.
The city's action plan outlines five key goals aimed at providing both immediate relief and long-term solutions:
· Transitioning individuals from encampments into stable housing with supportive services;
· Enhancing public awareness and civic engagement to build support for solutions;
· Securing additional funding to expand outreach and housing programs;
· Strengthening collaboration with other East County cities, the County Office of Homeless Solutions, and other key stakeholders;
· Preventing more residents from becoming homeless in the first place.
The plan emphasizes collaboration, aligning its strategies with the RTFH's Regional Plan to End Homelessness and initiatives from San Diego County. This approach leverages the East Region Memorandum of Understanding, a partnership with neighboring cities to address shared challenges.
Data from 2-1-1 San Diego further illustrates the widespread housing insecurity, its 2024 client reports for Lemon Grove showing that out of 2,162 total clients, 297 (13.7%) were identified as experiencing homelessness.
Reports shared by group also indicate significant financial strain among residents who are still housed, with 5% of clients in unstable housing and 33% reporting utility needs, many with past-due bills.
Lemon Grove’s plan also notes the role of the Housing Choice Voucher program (commonly known as Section 8). The County of San Diego’s Department of Housing and Community Development Services reports that it currently assists 350 recipients with HCVs in Lemon Grove. However, the high demand for assistance is evident, with 805 of the 56,180 applicants on the waiting list reporting that they live in the city.
The action plan identifies shared regional challenges, including high housing costs, stagnant wages and misinformation about homelessness.
To combat these issues, the city will focus on proven methods such as “Housing First,” permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing. It also highlights existing regional resources, including emergency shelters, safe parking programs and transitional housing for youth, as a foundation to build upon.
Housing Issues in the USA
HUD reports that nationally, about 64% of homeless individuals live in shelters, while 36% are unsheltered, living on the streets, in vehicles or in other places.
A primary driver of the nationwide increase in unhoused individuals is a severe housing shortage and rising costs of living. Incomes have not kept pace with rent – a full-time worker at the national average minimum wage cannot afford a modest two-bedroom rental anywhere in the country, especially true about California, which has some of the highest rents and home prices in the nation.
According to Zillow, San Diego County is one of the most expensive rental markets within California, and in the entire country. The average monthly rent for a home or apartment in San Diego is about $3,100, although Zillow notes that the rent varies significantly by neighborhood and unit size.
The average rent in California is approximately $2,800 per month, which is about 33% higher than the national average.
Zillow reports that the average monthly cost of rent in Lemon Grove is about $2,500, and while this is less than the San Diego county average, it is still significantly higher than the national average rent, which is around $2,100.
Many low-income households spend more than half of their income on rent, putting them at high risk of homelessness from a single unexpected expense such as a health emergency or catastrophic event.
Home buying is out of the question for most. Median home prices in California are reportedly about $809,000 – with sources reporting the national median home price around $371,000.
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