No shortage of need, area social service officials tell Encinitas council

Encinitas may feel like a wealthy community, but there are many needy people in town, particularly older adults, social service leaders told the City Council on Wednesday night.

Officials from three organizations that received money from the city’s Community Development Block Grant program during the 2024-25 fiscal year gave assessments to the council on how that money was spent, detailing the number of meals provided, housing assistance offered and fresh produce delivered.

John Van Cleef, CEO of the Community Resource Center, told the council that his nonprofit organization initially forecast it would serve 415 Encinitas residents with its most recent round of grant funding. But, he said, the actual figure turned out to be much higher — 687 people in total.

He added that 41% of them were age 55 or older, an increase of 5% from the prior year.

A typical CRC client, Van Cleef said, was a mother with three children who was leaving an abusive relationship and needed both housing and food assistance. The vast majority of the people — 550 out of the 687 clients — had housing at the time they sought help from CRC, he added, noting that council members have previously asked how many homeless people are getting services from CRC programs.

CRC received $28,118 from the city’s federally funded block grant program, plus $1,882 in supplemental city funding, for its homeless intervention and prevention program during the most recent grant cycle period.

Christine Spencer, director of grants and impact at Coastal Roots Farm, said her Encinitas-based farm program helped 33,000 “food-insecure” people in San Diego County during the recent grant cycle period.

Thirty-five seniors who live in Encinitas received eggs, herbs and produce delivered to their doors through the farm program, Spencer said, adding that the organic items were highly prized by seniors. The farm program received $5,000 grant from the city.

Meals on Wheels, which received $10,000 in grant money, assisted 63 Encinitas seniors and distributed a total of 7,000 home-delivered meals during the past year, said Helen Lopez, associate director of the program’s North County Service Center.

“We are much more than a meal,” Lopez stressed, noting that the volunteer meal delivery people also check on seniors’ physical and mental health while they are in the homes.

The volunteers, who typically stay and talk to their clients when they drop off the meals, often find they are the only person the senior may see that day, Lopez added.

Encinitas has participated in the federal Community Development Block Grant program since 1990. Grant recipients are required to follow a set of rules, including limitations on how much can be spent on administrative costs.

Council members said they had only one concern Wednesday night — they wanted to know what could be done to better promote a home repair program for low-income residents. The Residential Rehabilitation Program only completed three homeowner repair projects in the last year, they noted. City employees said they have advertised the program in multiple ways, including online and in paper notices delivered to area mobile home parks, but will explore new options.

Mayor Bruce Ehlers asked if the program was only open to homeowners, or would rental properties be able to participate. Right now, it’s only open to homeowners, but it may be expanded at a later date, city employees said.