Homeless In San Diego

Hugh Hughes is the president of Residency Apparel, a social enterprise using custom, branded apparel to support women transitioning into permanent housing in Los Angeles. For over the last ten years, Residency has worked with and alongside the unhoused population in LA, and they are able to fund that work through their donors and their clients that need their own branded merchandise. Their programs are two-fold: supportive employment, and sponsorship of trauma therapy for women in need. You can learn more about their work at www.residencyapparel.com

We welcome back Lynn Solorzano, Founder and President of Ashley’s Hope.  Lynn started this non-profit in memory of her daughter, Ashley.  Ashley passed away after 8 years living on the streets of San Diego -- she was only 25.  The mission of Ashley’s Hope is to provide people struggling with homeless-related issues dignity, respect and most importantly, hope.  Lynn is providing all Interfaith locations with clean, gently used clothing on a regular basis.   Learn More About Ashley’s Hope: https://ashleyshope.org/

Rich has lived experience of homelessness and addiction. He is a former Marine, MMA, Fighter, and Police Officer whose life has not been easy. While dealing with trauma Rich turned to drugs as an escape from reality. Ultimately, he ended up homeless for 12 years. Since then, Rich has gone through programs and reflects on his journey to self-sufficiency and recovery. Rich has since then overcome homelessness and someone who wants to give back and be of service to those who are in a similar position he was in.  

Shannon came to interfaith through a referral to be part of our RWC Program (Recovery and Wellness). After successfully graduating from the program, she is now a live in Manager of a women's sober living home. Through the trials and tribulations of her life, Shannon has overcome homelessness, is sober, and lives a life to help others. 

We are happy to welcome back Mei. Mei inspires all of us at Interfaith.  In Mei’s own words, she “suffered bouts of homelessness throughout her life and has managed to obtain secure housing and push forward through many years of trauma since childhood. “ In 2020, Mei opened Daydream, a gift shop located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Escondido, and launched a separate line selling her handmade “Humanitote” bags. For every bag sold, Mei donates a Humanitote bag to Interfaith filled with toiletries which are given directly to Humans experiencing homelessness.  As a business owner, and Interfaith partner, Mei furthered her work by collaborating on an ongoing fundraising event called Breakfast & Bags “for a unified effort in helping Interfaith help our houseless neighbors in need,” at Sunny Side Kitchen in Escondido where she launches each new Humanitote Collection at the event. We are grateful to Mei and Sunny Side Kitchen for their support!  Breakfast & Bags are held on the second Saturday of each month fr

Liz Rosas faced homelessness in San Diego for a year, from December 2013 to December 2014. Now, she actively advocates for others who are currently experiencing homelessness. She is a member of the Regional Task Force on Homelessness' Continuum of Care Advisory Board, representing those who are and were previously homeless. Additionally, she actively participates in the San Diego Housing Federation's Homeless-Experienced Advocacy and Leadership (HEAL) Network. 

Drew Moser is the Executive Director of the Lucky Duck Foundation, which raises money to fund, activate and lead high-impact programs that alleviate the suffering of homelessness throughout San Diego County. He has been in this role since early 2019. Drew is passionate about facilitating the generosity of donors who are committed to immediately helping those suffering from homelessness. He joins us to talk about the homeless crisis and the work that is being done to help those in need.  

Sunny Rey, was born into homelessness and dropped off in San Diego by her birth mom where her early experiences in foster care into adoption rooted her first musings as a writer at age 12. Growing up in the system with social workers ever present, Sunny found herself the rebel activist with a strong desire to build communities that combined art and a welcoming inclusive movement.  Sunny's early adulthood was spent with 15 years working in the social work arena while writing books on the side and raising her two children as a single mom. She recently founded a 501(C)3 where she put together hygiene kits for the home less with fellow poets .  https://www.poetsundergroundpress.com

Here to talk about their expertise with (tiny) Housing is Ellen Stone and Renee Seevers.  Ellen is the Founder and Managing Director of Tiny Home Central Consulting and Renee is the CEO of, the much anticipated, TinyFest.  Ellen and Renee partnered with Interfaith Community Services to bring you a showcase of "Tiny Homes" - an alternative, compact, and efficient way of living. Much can be said about these tiny homes, but can they be a big solution for Housing? Listen and find out!  TinyFest Ad Break:  Interfaith Community Services along with our wonderful guests, Ellen and Renee, bring you an amazing opportunity at TinyFest! Curious about Tiny Homes? Want to support Interfaith? Thanks to TinyFest Events, you have a chance to come and join the fun while supporting your local non-profit.   The event will be on Sat, Match 11, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM & Sun, Mar 12, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM.   Come on down to the Del Mar Fairgrounds - 2260 Jimmy Durante Boulevard, Del Mar, CA 92014.  Visit tinyfest.events

Holly Nelson serves as Housing and Neighborhood Services Manager for the City of Escondido.  She's also a friend and former employee of Interfaith. Holly began her career with us as a case manager and has shown an unrelenting commitment over the years to helping to secure housing and benefits to unsheltered members of our community. Please listen to our latest episode of Homeless in San Diego to learn more about Holly and the Point in Time Count she's spearheading this month.

Marc is a Volunteer at Interfaith, who feels passionately about giving back to those in need. In his adventurous career he has worked in television as a new reporter, and an entrepreneur in many fields of media entertainment. While perusing his entrepreneurship Marc found himself close to homelessness. Now Marc understands how easily being homeless can happen and that it can happen to anyone. Through his compassion, Marc now wants to help those in need and does so by Volunteering in Interfaith.  

Jimmy, came through Interfaith twice, and is now housed, sober, and working fulltime as an employee with the Union. In his story he shares that when facing homelessness, it was difficult to accept help when it was offered, but through the endless efforts of the Homeless Outreach team he accepted the help and got the help he needed.  Through his and trials and tribulations Jimmy has turned his life around, and hopes that he can inspire people with his story.  

Jimmy, came through Interfaith twice, and is now housed, sober, and working fulltime as an employee with the Union. In his story he shares that when facing homelessness, it was difficult to accept help when it was offered, but through the endless efforts of the Homeless Outreach team he accepted the help and got the help he needed.  Through his and trials and tribulations Jimmy has turned his life around, and hopes that he can inspire people with his story.  

Meet Pam! Pam has overcome adversity and is ready to help others do the same!   Pam is one of Interfaith’s newest employees. Despite recently joining, she has had to become familiar with our motto of "helping people help themselves" long before she joined us. Adopted from the Philippines at an early age, Pam grew up in Fallbrook where she often felt isolated and without a real support system. At the height of the pandemic, her life at home and relationships were not healthy. To escape the struggles at home, she became homeless and often couch surfed. Although Pam went without a home for a long time, she persevered and enrolled at UC Riverside where she worked hard to earn a degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences and even made the Dean’s list for academic excellence! Today, Pam is excited to share and use her experiences to help people in need overcome their own difficult situations, all while continuing to further her education and goals. Pam embodies our mission of helping people in need overcome difficult

We're taking a short recess in recording this week while we prepare for our Annual Meeting and Grand Opening of our Turk Recuperative Care Center on October 26th .  This gives us the perfect opportunity to look back on a previous episode with Mauro a local artist and the visionary behind the largest mural in Escondido titled "Journey to Healing."  This mural will live on as a symbol of recovery for all those who will begin transforming their lives at the Abraham and Lillian Turk Recuperative Care Center, for years to come. 

As we take a short break lets reflect on one of our most popular episodes. Please note new phone number is : 760.489.6380  Marlon is a Navy veteran from New Jersey. After serving for 20 years and being deployed to San Diego, he was able to retire in 2012. Yet, after being affected by an identity fraud scam, he was forced to come out of retirement and struggled financially. Fortunately, after connecting with someone who referred him to Interfaith, he was able to receive the right job training to put his life back on course. Today, Marlon is doing a lot for himself and his community. He is the founder and owner of his own business, Blue Sky Enterprise (BSE) Security Services. He actively employs veterans and refers them to job training opportunities; all while taking the first steps to establish his own non-profit. Named LOV (Love Our Veterans), Marlon plans on building a veterans home for young and old vets to help one another achieve success.

Candi Milo is one of the busiest actresses in voice-overs today and is honored to have taken the mantle from the legendary late June Foray as the voice of Granny for all of Warner Brothers Animation projects. Milo is a successful actor and Annie Award nominee best known for voicing Dexter in Dexter’s Laboratory and The Flea in Mucha Lucha, along with literally thousands of other well-known characters. Her recent memoir, "Surviving the Odd," covers the topical concepts of how we deal with people experiencing homelessness as well as those with mental health problems as seen through the eyes of a child. She learned by watching how the outside world treats people experiencing homelessness vs. Her own experiences of living with people experiencing homelessness while growing up. She is a passionate advocate for people dealing with mental illness and homelessness 

Amy Denhart is the Director of Funders Together to End Homelessness San Diego (FTEHSD) at Catalyst, where she supports FTEHSD's strategic grantmaking and advocacy in systems change and permanent housing opportunities to reduce homelessness.     For the past 22 years, Amy held positions in fundraising, public policy, and community engagement. During more than a decade as Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood, she worked with donors and the Board of Directors to advance public policy in support of reproductive health care. Prior to that, she was Area Director for US Senator Barbara Boxer, serving as the Senator’s liaison to the San Diego community, connecting constituents to the Senate and other government bodies. Just prior to joining FTEHSD, Amy worked closely with the City of San Diego and County governments as the lead finance and contract management staff for a local community engagement and design firm. She has served on the City of San Diego’s Parks and Recreation committee and is currently

At the University of Washington, Gregg enjoys teaching courses in housing, economics, and finance at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He maintains an active research agenda focused on housing policy, housing markets, housing affordability, and homelessness. Gregg is also actively engaged in a wide range of community efforts to address the acute housing crisis 

Anna is a licensed social worker and member of Interfaith’s Homeless Outreach team, who works closely with Officer Ferry of the Oceanside Police Department’s Homeless Outreach. The H.O.T. works closely with several service providers to help accomplish this goal by connecting these individuals with the various resources that are available to them to assist them in finding permanent housing.