Legal-aid CEO says Eviction Prevention Program will be reinstated; community urges restoring equity funds

Joanne Franciscus, CEO of the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, told the council the city had informed her office that the Eviction Prevention Program will be reinstated "in next week's budget revision at the current funding level." Franciscus said EPP provides a one-stop suite of free legal services and cited metrics on service volume and cost effectiveness in preventing homelessness.

"At this point, you have all heard me talk about how critical EPP services are...In the last year, at least 86 of EPP clients have avoided homelessness," Franciscus said, and added that the program averages $952 per person for one-on-one services compared with far greater public costs if people fall into homelessness.

Other speakers pressed for restorations across multiple equity programs. Shelby Huffaker, chair of the San Diego chapter of Americans for Safe Access, said eliminating funding for a cannabis social equity program would require the City to return nearly $1,000,000 in state grant funding and argued the program would promote economic opportunity for communities harmed by criminalization. "We cannot wait any longer to implement this program," she said. Advocates including Dory Larimore and Jordan Parker warned that not implementing social equity measures risks losing allocated funds (one commenter cited roughly $800,000 in at-risk allocations).

Speakers also urged restoring the Climate Equity Fund, library programming and teen drop-in centers and noted that the January floods exposed infrastructure shortfalls in underserved neighborhoods. Several community leaders said they had been told some restorations would appear in the mayor's May revise and asked council members to push for equitable allocations.

The council did not vote on any of the requests during the informational hearing; members said they expected to review the May revise and consider modifications in Budget Review Committee meetings.