Lucky Duck Foundation to provide $10,000 for every incremental and permanent shelter bed the San Diego Rescue Mission activates between now and June 30, 2026, up to $1.5 million
SAN DIEGO, CA – July 14, 2025: In an urgent and practical effort to help address San Diego County’s homelessness crisis, the Lucky Duck Foundation (LDF), the San Diego Rescue Mission and the City of Vista today announced an expansion of homelessness shelter capacity and services that includes the future creation of new shelters in Vista and East County.
The increase of shelter beds and critical services comes at a time when San Diego’s homelessness crisis continues to affect nearly 10,000 people per day. While last month’s Point In Time Count reported a 7% decrease in homelessness regionwide, there are still thousands of people living on the streets that need help. Adding to the crisis is the fact that California’s state budget currently has no money for California’s Homeless.
The announcement follows Vista City Council’s unanimous approval of the Rescue Mission establishing a homeless shelter within its boundaries. The Rescue Mission is also evaluating potential sites for a shelter in East County.
To accelerate this effort, Lucky Duck Foundation has committed startup funding of $10,000 for every new incremental and permanent shelter bed the San Diego Rescue Mission activates in San Diego County between now and June 30, 2026. For example, if the Rescue Mission adds 150 new beds, Lucky Duck Foundation’s contribution would total $1.5 million.
“In San Diego County, building a single housing unit can easily cost more than $500,000 and take many years to complete,” said Drew Moser, CEO of the Lucky Duck Foundation. “While additional housing is needed, the timeline and economics simply do not match the urgency of the crisis. We believe the Rescue Mission is best-in-class at creating and managing shelters for San Diego’s most vulnerable neighbors, and as such our commitment is intended to help the Rescue Mission quickly and cost-effectively bring more people indoors with appropriate services.”
“We welcome this unique partnership to help end homelessness in Vista with open arms,” said Vista Mayor John Franklin. “By combining the Rescue Mission’s compassionate and proven approach as the region’s leading homeless service provider with generous funding from the Lucky Duck Foundation, this strategic partnership will make an immediate and measurable impact in North County and help create brighter, more hopeful futures for unhoused men, women, and children in our community.”
“Every night, thousands of San Diegans are sleeping on the streets without access to safe shelter,” said Donnie Dee, President and CEO of the San Diego Rescue Mission. “At the San Diego Rescue Mission, we work to restore lives – addressing not just immediate needs, but the deeper root causes of homelessness, including trauma, addiction, mental health challenges and systemic barriers. Thanks to the Lucky Duck Foundation’s ongoing support of our shelter bed and outreach efforts, we’ll soon be able to open more shelter beds critically needed in Vista and East County and provide the care and resources individuals experiencing homelessness need get back on their feet and transform their lives.”
Since opening in 2023, the North County Lighthouse (formerly Oceanside Navigation Center) has welcomed more than 550 guests off the streets, with over 300 transitioning to longer-term care or housing. Within six months of opening the South County Lighthouse in 2024, the Rescue Mission welcomed over 200 guests and provided nearly 20,000 meals to people experiencing homelessness. Over the past 3 years, the San Diego Rescue Mission has supported 833 people securing permanent housing through street outreach, 30-day shelters and their residential rehabilitation program. These outcomes underscore the success of the Rescue Mission’s approach to homelessness shelter services, and the model they will carry into Vista and East County.
This new partnership will also enable the Rescue Mission to expand the Lucky Duck Foundation’s “Cash for Trash” program through its outreach efforts across the region. “Cash for Trash” provides $2 for every bag of trash collected from encampments and has already removed over 200 tons of trash from downtown San Diego.
LDF’s collaborative, performance-based funding is designed to urgently add incremental shelter options and lifesaving services for people suffering from homelessness. It also reflects both organizations’ shared belief that quick, humane and cost-effective strategies are essential for reducing homelessness, and it builds on the Lucky Duck Foundation’s previous $1,000,000 contribution to help open the Rescue Mission’s Lighthouse shelters in National City and Oceanside.
With the Rescue Mission’s next annual Mayors Symposium scheduled for August 4, both organizations and Mayor Franklin urged all 18 mayors throughout San Diego County, as well as the County Board of Supervisors, to participate in this effort by identifying properties that can be used for shelter. Additionally, they called on them to work together to provide funding to add more immediately available beds and other cost-effective strategies to accelerate efforts to aid those suffering from homelessness.
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ABOUT THE SAN DIEGO RESCUE MISSION
Since 1955, the San Diego Rescue Mission has been transforming the lives of men, women and children experiencing homelessness, hunger, poverty, and abuse. With a holistic approach focused on long-term recovery, SDRM provides shelter, rehabilitation, education, job training, housing assistance and spiritual care. Learn more at www.sdrescue.org.
ABOUT THE LUCKY DUCK FOUNDATION
The Lucky Duck Foundation’s mission is to prevent an alleviate the suffering of homelessness. Since 2005, The Lucky Duck Foundation (LDF) has raised funds and awareness for numerous charitable causes throughout San Diego. In 2017, due to the growing homelessness epidemic, LDF pivoted to focus on providing aid and relief for individuals and families suffering from homelessness. Since then, LDF and its co-founders, Pat & Stephanie Kilkenny, have funded, activated, and led several high-impact programs that alleviate the suffering of homelessness throughout San Diego County, including bridge shelters, employment and job training, research, permanent supportive housing, outreach, and more. Originally called the AGIA Foundation (Arrowhead General Insurance Agency), the name was changed to the Lucky Duck Foundation to honor the Kilkenny family’s Irish heritage and as a nod to their love of the University of Oregon. The premise is simple: if you have had some good luck and fortune in your life, share your luck with those less fortunate. And, all donations are matched by Pat & Stephanie, up to $1.5 million per year.
