A prominent San Diego homeless services organization has asked dozens of local business leaders to serve on a new advisory board, a reflection of how companies and economic development organizations are increasingly taking an active role in the homelessness crisis.
The Rescue Mission announced Wednesday that couples representing developers, car dealerships and real estate investors, among others, will begin meeting every January on how best to support the nonprofits faith-based approach.
Homelessness is not a government problem to fix, its a community issue, Donnie Dee, the Rescue Missions president and CEO, said in a statement. Our new Board of Trustees brings together influential leaders who share our vision, passion, and dedication to transforming lives.
The group is separate from the nonprofits board of directors that oversees how money is spent.
The Rescue Mission has long relied almost entirely on private donors — a recent bed-sharing contract with the city of San Diego is a rare exception — and leaders have said the decision to largely spurn government funding frees them up to criticize policies they see as ineffective.
The nonprofit is also expanding. In addition to its facility in downtown San Diego, the Rescue Mission has opened programs in Oceanside and National City and staffers are exploring sites in East County.
The new advisory board includes Susan and Scott McMillin from Corky McMillin Companies, the group that remade the Naval Training Center into the cultural and business hub known as Liberty Station.
An offshoot of the McMillin organization is suing the city of San Diego to block a proposed shelter by the airport. The company believes plans to use the empty lot as a place for hundreds of homeless people to sleep are both illegal and imperil a new hotel. The city should do the right thing and find an alternative location, Scott McMillin wrote in an op-ed for The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The other members of the board are Candace and Vince Kasperick from Aimloan.com; Susan and Bill Hoehn with Hoehn Motors; Evone and Sam Attisha of Attisha Enterprises; Diane and Paul Saber from Manna Development; Annie and David Malcolm with Cal West Apartments; Mossy Motors Sandy and Peter Mossy; Cookie and Tom Sudberry, as well as Jody and Jeff Bradley, all from Sudberry Properties; Susan and Don Oliphant with DWO Enterprises; Sarah and John Cox of Equity Property Management; Wilkinson Enterprises Margarita and Philip Wilkinson.
Staff writers Phillip Molnar and Natallie Rocha contributed to this report.