- Neil Good Day Center: Men and women can get mail at Neil Good. You just need to get an ID from there and pick it up at least every couple of weeks or they send it back. The address is 299 17th Street, San Diego, CA, 92101. I haven't been to Neil Good in ages. I no longer recall what mail pick up times were and they might have changed in the year or more since I have been there.
- Rachel's Women's Center: Women can also have mail delivered to Rachel's. Pick it up at least once a month or they send it back. Mail pick up times are twice a day every day, once in the morning, once in the afternoon. The times have recently changed and I have not picked up my mail in a while. Make sure you ask what time you need to be there. The address is 759 8th Ave, San Diego, CA, 92101.
- Brother Benno's: This is up in Oceanside. It is a homeless services center available to people in the North County. I never went there. I have no firsthand experience with this service. Their website indicates they provide mail service as one of their homeless services.
- Post Office Box: If you have (two forms of) proper ID, you can get a PO Box. It isn't as good as a street address. For example, you cannot get Fed Ex, UPS deliveries, or certain types of items (like a PayPal debit card) delivered to a PO box. But it is fairly cheap and it is secure. You can reserve a PO Box online. This is the only list of acceptable ID I can currently find.
- Postal Annex: Unlike a PO Box, renting a mail box from these folks will give you an actual street address and you can get Fed Ex etc. It has the same ID requirements as a PO Box. It is substantially more expensive than a PO Box.
UPDATE: I have acquired a mailbox at a Postal Annex location. The stated price for 3 months was $70. However, there was also a $15 set up fee and I guess taxes. The total was $97.80. But it gives me a street address, not a PO Box number, so I had no problem opening a local bank account today using my new mailing address. - General Delivery: Even without an address, it is possible to occasionally get mail at a U.S. Post Office by having it sent "general delivery." Go to the USPS FAQ, type in "general delivery," and hit enter. It will give info on this option. (I cannot find a direct link.) This would be for mail delivered through the U.S. Postal Service. You cannot use this for Fed Ex, UPS, or similar services.
- The UPS Store: Like Postal Annex, they rent mailboxes. But you can also get mail delivered to a branch without having a mailbox. You have to have valid ID to pick it up and there is a fee. I was charged $5 the one time I did this. I have no idea if the fee varies from branch to branch.
How to Get a Street Address for Your Mail
See also: Virtual Mail