This page was originally called Services. It mostly listed California specific services. After I left California, I thought it would be a good idea to use this page to highlight pages on the site that are most useful to people in California and I did a bit of site reorganization generally.
Getting ID in San Diego
Rachel's Women's Center
Neil Good Day Center
Neil Good Day Center Plans To Move
Presbyterian Urban Ministries
Pics of Urban Ministries
Dial 211
A Couple of North County Resources
On 16th street, you will find God's Extended Hand, which does free meals, gives away clothes, has a night shelter and probably does other stuff I am unaware of. They are mentioned in some of my posts there but I don't think I have an individual page for them. St. Vincent De Paul is a few blocks away, sort of at the end of 16th street (though maybe not literally the end of the street). God's Extended Hand is across the street from one of the thrift stores and there are two other thrift stores on 16th, further to the north, if I recall correctly. The section of 16th street between roughly God's Extended Hand and St. Vincent's is an area where, when I was in downtown, a lot of homeless people hung out and a lot of casual giveaways of food and other things happened. Some churches and the like sometimes stopped with a truck or whatever and maybe set up a table and gave things away. People who were really destitute spent a lot of time in that area because of this. I didn't spend a lot of time in that area.
Additionally, Neil Good is not far away. It is kind of between God's Extended Hand and St. Vincent's, except one block over on 17th street.
Rachel's is not at the corner of the street, but if it were, it would be kitty-corner across the street from the back of the Salvation Army, which is actually where people lined up for the free meal with Salvation Army when I was in downtown. It was also like two blocks from the old library, where I spent a lot of time. I left before the old library closed and the new one opened.
Rachel's, Neil Good, St. Vincent's and Salvation Army all have more programs than I am fully aware of.
Free and Cheap Clothes in San Diego County
Free Clothes
Rachel's Women's Center It is possible for women to get some free clothes here, either in an emergency or in exchange for doing chores.
Cheap Clothes
Free Meals in San Diego County, California:
Coffee and Pastry Breakfasts
Once A Week Meal Sites
Daily Meal at St. Vincent de Paul AKA "Father Joe's"
Dinner at Salvation Army
Soup Kitchens
North County Meals
Food Pantries and more North County Meals
Getting Around in San Diego County
Gaslamp Quarter Street Grid
Bike Lockers in San Diego County
La Jolla: I spent about six months there and took the express bus back to downtown once a month to get mail at Rachel's. So, especially if you have a bus pass, it is possible to stay someplace other than downtown and still access services in downtown. This was an interim stage for me before moving on to the North County. I basically downgraded my dependence on services and food stamps in stages. Physically moving out of downtown was part of a path of upward mobility, which is part of why I decided to pair physical mobility and upward mobility on the same page.
San Diego County Public Transit: This is their official website, not a blog post by me. If you learn to use the transit system, you can go pretty much anywhere in the county. You can get to downtown from Oceanside -- the farthest north city in the county -- in about an hour via Amtrak. It can greatly enhance your quality of life.
Getting ID in San Diego
Rachel's Women's Center
Neil Good Day Center
Neil Good Day Center Plans To Move
Presbyterian Urban Ministries
Pics of Urban Ministries
Dial 211
A Couple of North County Resources
On 16th street, you will find God's Extended Hand, which does free meals, gives away clothes, has a night shelter and probably does other stuff I am unaware of. They are mentioned in some of my posts there but I don't think I have an individual page for them. St. Vincent De Paul is a few blocks away, sort of at the end of 16th street (though maybe not literally the end of the street). God's Extended Hand is across the street from one of the thrift stores and there are two other thrift stores on 16th, further to the north, if I recall correctly. The section of 16th street between roughly God's Extended Hand and St. Vincent's is an area where, when I was in downtown, a lot of homeless people hung out and a lot of casual giveaways of food and other things happened. Some churches and the like sometimes stopped with a truck or whatever and maybe set up a table and gave things away. People who were really destitute spent a lot of time in that area because of this. I didn't spend a lot of time in that area.
Additionally, Neil Good is not far away. It is kind of between God's Extended Hand and St. Vincent's, except one block over on 17th street.
Rachel's is not at the corner of the street, but if it were, it would be kitty-corner across the street from the back of the Salvation Army, which is actually where people lined up for the free meal with Salvation Army when I was in downtown. It was also like two blocks from the old library, where I spent a lot of time. I left before the old library closed and the new one opened.
Rachel's, Neil Good, St. Vincent's and Salvation Army all have more programs than I am fully aware of.
Free and Cheap Clothes in San Diego County
Free Clothes
Rachel's Women's Center It is possible for women to get some free clothes here, either in an emergency or in exchange for doing chores.
Cheap Clothes
Free Meals in San Diego County, California:
Coffee and Pastry Breakfasts
Once A Week Meal Sites
Daily Meal at St. Vincent de Paul AKA "Father Joe's"
Dinner at Salvation Army
Soup Kitchens
North County Meals
Food Pantries and more North County Meals
Getting Around in San Diego County
Gaslamp Quarter Street Grid
Bike Lockers in San Diego County
La Jolla: I spent about six months there and took the express bus back to downtown once a month to get mail at Rachel's. So, especially if you have a bus pass, it is possible to stay someplace other than downtown and still access services in downtown. This was an interim stage for me before moving on to the North County. I basically downgraded my dependence on services and food stamps in stages. Physically moving out of downtown was part of a path of upward mobility, which is part of why I decided to pair physical mobility and upward mobility on the same page.
San Diego County Public Transit: This is their official website, not a blog post by me. If you learn to use the transit system, you can go pretty much anywhere in the county. You can get to downtown from Oceanside -- the farthest north city in the county -- in about an hour via Amtrak. It can greatly enhance your quality of life.