If you are experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, we are here to help you!
Welcome Home City offers one-time non-emergent financial assistance for students who need rental assistance to bridge an unforeseen gap in expenses or who have located a housing unit and cannot afford upfront costs. To be eligible for financial support, students must have a plan to meet their basic needs in the months ahead.
For students with greater needs, comprehensive case management support and housing navigation may be available to assist you in accessing basic needs resources to achieve your academic goals.
Interested in seeing if you qualify? Homeless and housing insecure includes students who are:
- Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason.
- Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations.
- Living in emergency or transitional shelters.
- Living in a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
- Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings.
If you are experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, please complete the Basic Needs Assessment form below.
Lastly, please click here to access local shelter resources through 211 San Diego, including emergency housing options.
Meet the Team
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My name is Marco Circosta (he/him) and I am excited to join the Welcome Home, City Program as a Housing Specialist to assist students' housing navigation needs. My goal is to offer the Welcome Home, City team my knowledge and background in assisting individuals experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. While working at PATH (People Assisting the Homeless), I worked under programs specifically assisting individuals who need comprehensive support from supportive services as well as programs directed at finding a stable home for unhoused Veterans. I will use that knowledge in my new role as the Welcome Home, City Housing Specialist. This role is very unique in that I will have the opportunity to work with students to identify long-term sustainable housing options within our current hyper-competitive housing market while navigating students through the process of attaining housing. I look forward to understanding the needs of SDCC students and helping find an environment that will bring success to their academic journey as well as their journey to a happy and health home.
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My name is David Howard. It is an honor to join the HHIP team serving our City College students. I completed my Masters in Social Work at SDSU in 2019, and I am excited to bring my experience to San Diego City College. I have worked with individuals experiencing homelessness for much of the past 10 years, primarily focusing on the overlap between addiction and chronic homelessness. Most recently, I worked with homeless military Veterans at Veterans Village of San Diego. My past work has been a mix of research/program design, and direct clinical practice. Because of this, joining this project and putting all of my skills to use feels like coming home! I am especially eager to connect with our diverse and marginalized students, and let them know they are not alone in chasing their academic and personal goals.
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Hi, my name is Michael Evans, but you can call me Mike. I am currently an Associate Clinical Social Worker working here in the Homelessness and Housing Insecurity Pilot program (HHIP), and I couldn't be happier to be here working in this program. I graduated from SDSU in 2019 with an MSW, concentrating in direct practice. I have professional experience working with adults with severe mental illness, college students, and people experiencing homelessness; I have worked in inpatient, outpatient, and street-based settings. My most recent job at PATH (People Assisting the Homeless) gave me a breadth of experience working with individuals with chronic medical problems, addiction, and mental illness. My passions for addressing unjust systems and also working directly with clients intersect in a program like HHIP, which makes this opportunity all the more exciting. I look forward to using my strengths and experience to create a sustainable program that will impact college students for years to come.
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My name is Zaira Martinez and it is an honor to return to San Diego City College as Project Assistant for HHIP (Homeless and Housing Insecurity Pilot Program). I received my Associates in Social Work from San Diego City College (SDCC) in 2018 and went on to transfer to SDSU where I also received my Bachelors in Social Work. I have the first-hand experience in housing insecurity that will help me understand your needs and empathize with the struggles of being a student and dealing with home insecurity. While at City, I worked as a student PEER and learned about the importance of mental health for students and a community as a whole. While at SDSU, I completed my internship hours at SDCC as a case manager, assisting with the PEER program, and giving presentations about mental health and our services. My most recent job was as a case manager helped me with finding essential resources for my clients. I am so excited to bring my past experience to a campus that has shown me so much support throughout the years and to assist with starting a program that positively impacts our campus for future generations of students.
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My name is Emily Saldine. I have had the privilege of working as a Grant Coordinator in Mental Health for the past 5 years overseeing 3 different grants while at SDCC. I am beyond excited to continue this work as the Grant Coordinator for the Homeless and Housing Insecurity Pilot Program. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, initially working in various roles in the non-profit sector including information and referral, case management and management. In addition to my work at SDCC I also work as an emergency room social worker at both Kaiser and Sharp hospitals, which allows me to consistently access and laisse with community resources to ensure client's needs are met. I look forward to expanding this network further to ensure SDCC students are safely and sustainably housed so they they can focus on their studies. |
