Founded in 2012, Urban Street Angels is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization aimed at ending youth homelessness in San Diego, CA and beyond. We began as a small group of volunteers hitting the streets of Ocean Beach several times each month with backpacks of supplies and home-cooked meals, but we quickly discovered that San Diego has a vast number of resources dedicated toward feeding and supplyin
g the homeless. Two critical parts of the puzzle were missing: supportive housing and work programs for transition-aged youth. Transition-aged youth are individuals between the ages of 18 and 25. The unique needs of this demographic are largely ignored by most homeless support services. This service gap helped inform our growth toward our current mission:
To end youth homelessness by providing supportive housing and job training to cultivate personal responsibility. We currently operate 5 supportive housing programs that also provide support services to our youth. With over 105 beds now, we not only provide a safe place for our youth to stay but also provide Case Management, mental health therapy, housing and job navigation, peer support and a trauma informed enviornment that is created just for our youth. Our main partners in these programs are The County of San Diego BHS and The Regional Task Force for the Homeless along with the San Diego Housing Commission. On the job training side, we operate 8 West as a social enterprise program that provides transitional employment and job skills training for our program clients. 8 West produces a line of premium bath, shower and spa products. And many of the youth in our housing programs learn how to become employable though this innovative program. 8 West soap and candles can be found online for sale at www.8west.org, or at select retailers in the San Diego area. To learn more, please visit our website at www.urbanstreetangels.org.
