CARLSBAD — Fifteen new beds have been added to the La Posada de Guadalupe Men’s Shelter in Carlsbad, increasing its capacity from 50 to 65, with hopes of adding at least 30 more through a new fundraising campaign.
According to Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego, which operates the shelter, the campaign aims to raise $360,000 from the community to open more beds. The city of Carlsbad and the Lucky Duck Foundation, which raises money to fund “high-impact” homeless programs throughout San Diego County, have agreed to match donations up to an additional $360,000, potentially generating $720,000 for La Posada.
La Posada has 100 beds available, but the shelter cannot fill all of them without enough staffing and resources.
In addition to shelter beds, La Posada provides wraparound services, including case management to help residents access resources. It also offers bathrooms, showers, laundry, daily hot meals, clean bedding, a mailing address, medical referrals to local health care providers, job referrals, employment assistance and personal hygiene supplies.
La Posada opened in 1992 as a temporary shelter for migrant farmworkers who had been sleeping outdoors around Agua Hedionda Lagoon.
Mayor Keith Blackburn, then a police sergeant, was tasked with shutting down the lagoon after the state determined its water was contaminated and no longer suitable for recreational use.
Blackburn said he spent the next two weeks calling various organizations to ask what could be done.
“La Posada stepped up to the plate to give them a place to stay and transportation,” he said at the Oct. 27 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new beds.
La Posada transitioned from a temporary facility to a permanent building on Impala Drive in 2013.
Today, La Posada also operates as a low-barrier homeless shelter for single men.
Blackburn said “many great stories” have come from La Posada over the past three decades.
He recalled discovering that a handyman he had hired had previously stayed at La Posada. Before arriving at the shelter, the man had been living on the street behind a Taco Bell in Encinitas. After his stay, he was able to start his own business, get married and start a family while living in Oceanside.
“That’s just one of the many successes of this partnership,” Blackburn said, teary-eyed.
Lucky Duck Foundation CEO Drew Moser said it was “refreshing” to see Carlsbad add more shelter beds while other cities in the region reduce theirs.
