East County will soon become home to the next San Diego Rescue Mission shelter. While the organization is fielding sites throughout the county, group leaders indicated that the region’s next emergency shelter will likely land in El Cajon. “Homelessness knows no zip codes,” Rescue Mission CEO a nd President Donnie Dee said. “That’s why I’m excited about East County. I think the mayors there understand that homelessness follows the train tracks, the bus stops and the services.” The project is part of a larger effort by the organization to expand its “lighthouse” shelter network. Lighthouse shelters are 30-day emergency shelters that typically house 100 or more beds. The Rescue Mission focuses its resources and rehabilitation efforts on trauma, addiction and mental health services. Their shelters are “no-tolerance” sites for drug and alcohol use. Organization leaders hope to place shelters in North, South and East County that “feed” into their downtown rehabilitation program. In 2024, the organization opened a 162-bed shelter in National City. The group had operated a lighthouse shelter in Oceanside, but it has since split from the location due to policy and vision conflicts with the city. That is an issue that Dee said he couldn’t imagine having if the organization puts a shelter in El Cajon. “They (city leaders) seem to be in agreement that they have a homeless issue and they want to do something differently,” Dee said. “They provide a lot of services; they spend quite a bit of money on this issue.” The Rescue Mission follows a regional approach to its shelter operations. Individuals of any background are accepted to lighthouse shelters, not just residents of the city it is located in. If the new Rescue Mission shelter lands in El Cajon, Mayor Bill Wells said he would be fine with accepting homeless individuals from other parts of the county. The organization’s strategy is one that aligns with the city’s approach to addressing the issue, he said. “I like their model, I think it works,” Wells said. “As a clinician, I’m not a believer in Housing First. So, this is something I think can actually help people, so we’re in favor of what they’re doing.” The Rescue Mission hopes to own the shelter and cover operating costs on its own. By functioning independently, the group won’t worry about city officials “telling us what to do,” Dee said. Wells and Dee noted that conversations are still ongoing about the location and ownership details of the future shelter. The Rescue Mission is open to a variety of ownership structures, Dee said. “We’d like for it to be in El Cajon simply because it has the biggest homeless problem in East Count’s point-in-time count,” Dee said. The 2025 homelessness census by the Regional Task Force on Homelessness counted 52 unsheltered individuals in La Mesa, 53 in Santee, 110 in Lemon Grove and 320 in El Cajon. East County generally has the fewest number of dedicated beds in the region, despite the high number of unsheltered individuals who reside there. The new Rescue Mission shelter would join a limited number of shelters in the region, including the East County Transitional Living Center in El Cajon and Crisis House in Santee. A controversial county-led project will eventually put 60 cabins to house homeless individuals on Troy Street in Lemon Grove. A site for the East County shelter will most likely be identified by the summer, Dee said. “I really believe the relationships that we’re building with the politicians and the commitment to think regionally about this issue allow us to work together better in the future,” he said. ...read more read less