Founded in 1999 by a husband and wife team, North County
Solutions for Change (Solutions) began in earnest after
seeing a sudden increase of families seeking refuge
at emergency winter shelters in San Diego County. After
nearly a decade of helping hundreds of men end their
homelessness by utilizing an innovative work to recovery
model that the couple developed called STEP-UP, Chris
and Tammy Megison were now confronted with an extraordinary
new face of homelessness: that of a nine year old girl.
The Megison’s launched a series of community education
campaigns aimed at raising the public’s awareness.
It’s first such campaign featured a pair of tiny
little feet which stuck out from underneath a baby blanket.
Underneath it read: These Little Piggies are Homeless
– We Can Change That! Soon, the local print media
picked up on the plight and within one year CNN ran
a world-wide special called “Left Behind”
which documented Solutions helping two such homeless
families living in their tents and cars who worked yet
could not afford the skyrocketing rental costs.
Now in its seventh year of providing housing and services
to homeless families with children, Solutions has met
head on, and overcome the challenges inherent to a new
non-profit organization. The capacity building challenges
of funding, staffing and program development have been
steadily built up, while at the same time continuing
to be on the front lines of ending homelessness for
hundreds of children and their parents. Solutions has
created community based solutions on a region-wide level
while reaching and touching the lives of hundreds of
marginalized families who have slid through the economic
cracks in this largely upper middle class area of over
1.2 million people.
Solutions raised over 6.5 million dollars to build the
new Solutions Family Center and has now effectively
administered over $2,580,000 worth of program grants
and public contracts since its inception, representing
over 40 different funding sources including funds from
eight different local governments. Now, over 110 corporate
or foundation funding sources, including dozens of faith
centers and over 2400 documented private contributors
have supported Solutions for Change -- evidence that
its capacity is strong enough to earn the confidence
of even the strictest monitored grant giving programs.
This same confidence has spread throughout the North
San Diego county area, as a community alarmed by record
numbers of homeless families with children witnessed
North County Solutions for Change organize a five city
wide emergency housing effort that has since resulted
in over 1200 children in 352 families getting immediate
shelter, food and the care they needed.
The award winning Solutions Family Center opened November
2004. Within six months nearly 400 homeless families
with over 800 children sought entry into the 32 unit
center. Sadly hundreds of children were turned away
for lack of space. In early 2005, Solutions launched
another bold campaign to raise over one million dollars
to purchase a building at 890 East Vista Way in Vista.
The new home for an additional 12 families will be opening
in Spring 2006.
Solutions realizes that in order to truly end family
homelessness it must be able to move people out of its
transitional programs and into permanent affordable
housing. Sixty-two percent of the families who exit
the Solutions programs move into permanent affordable
housing, are full-time employed, have saved $2,000 and
have sufficiently resolved the other social and economic
factors that may have contributed to their homelessness.
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To end family homelessness in North San Diego County.
