A County-backed housing model championed by San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Terra Lawson-Remer became reality today as Shoreline Community Services opened Compass Commons, a first-of-its-kind cabin community for people working their way out of homelessness.

The six individual sleeping cabins will provide safe, secure, and dignified housing for members of Shoreline’s Community Care Crew — people who are earning wages, cleaning streets, supporting local businesses, and rebuilding stability in one of San Diego’s highest-cost beach communities.

Shoreline Community Services is the first organization to successfully turn the County’s Building Partnerships sleeping cabin program into an operating workforce housing model. Lawson-Remer helped launch the County program to give trusted local partners faster, lower-cost tools to address homelessness, and the County awarded Shoreline $95,000 through the program.

“In San Diego, people can work hard, earn a paycheck, help keep our neighborhoods clean, and still not have a safe place to sleep at night,” said Chair Terra Lawson-Remer. “That is a sign that our housing system has become impossible for too many working people. Shoreline had the tenacity to take a County tool and turn it into a real pathway from homelessness to work, wages, and stability, and I’m proud we backed them.”

The County’s Building Partnerships sleeping cabin program was created to help local organizations acquire Pallet sleeping cabins and establish flexible, community-based shelter options. The County made funding available for the purchase, delivery, and assembly of the cabins, while partner organizations were responsible for identifying sites, operating the program, and building the local partnerships needed to make each project successful.

That challenge is especially difficult in coastal communities, where high land costs, limited available sites, and fewer existing shelter resources can make it harder to build homelessness response capacity. Shoreline Community Services met that challenge by bringing together local partners, service providers, community supporters, and a workforce model rooted in dignity, accountability, and practical support.

Earlier this month, members of Lawson-Remer’s team were on site with Shoreline Community Services, helping install the cabins, part of the behind-the-scenes work needed to turn an idea on paper into six safe places to sleep. 

“This is exactly why we created Building Partnerships,” Lawson-Remer said. “Government can provide the tool, but it takes strong community partners to turn that tool into a real solution. Shoreline stepped up when this program needed partners with land, operations, trust, and persistence — and now Pacific Beach has a model that connects people to work, wages, services, and a stable place to sleep.”

Since its inception, Community Care Crew members have worked more than 7,200 hours beautifying local neighborhoods, earned over $150,000 in wages, and generated more than $170,000 in program revenue while taking meaningful steps toward employment and housing stability.

Compass Commons was made possible through partnerships with San Diego County, the Lucky Duck Foundation, Christ Lutheran Church, LPA Design Studios, and numerous community supporters who shared Shoreline’s vision of creating a pathway from employment to housing.

“One of the greatest barriers facing many people experiencing homelessness is the gap between employment and housing,” said Caryn Blanton, Executive Director of Shoreline Community Services. “Compass Commons helps bridge that gap by providing a safe place to rest, recover, and continue moving forward. We believe that people who are working hard to rebuild their lives deserve a stable place to call home.”

The Community Care Crew is hired by local businesses, churches, and community organizations to provide street cleaning, power washing, custodial services, and other neighborhood beautification work. The program gives people experiencing homelessness an opportunity to earn income, build work experience, reconnect with community, and move toward long-term self-sufficiency.

“Today, there are now six people with a door that locks, a safe place to sleep, a job to go to, and a path forward,” Lawson-Remer said. “Real progress takes persistence. It takes partners who refuse to give up, and it takes a County government with the focus and follow-through to see hard work through from idea to reality.”