Bread of Life Rescue Mission to become North County branch of San Diego Rescue Mission

The  San Diego Rescue Mission is merging with the Bread of Life Rescue Mission in Oceanside in what leaders of the two faith-based nonprofits say is the first step in unifying efforts to shelter homeless people countywide and lead them to self-sufficiency.

“We’re trying to be sensitive to the fact that this as a great organization and has a rich history,” San Diego Rescue Mission President and CEO Donnie Dee said about Bread of Life. “They didn’t need us to take over, but we’re just committed to the same thing, and we feel that we can do more together.”

The merger will allow the San Diego Rescue Mission to have a North County presence and will provide the Oceanside mission with more resources while saving on costs.

After the merger becomes official in October, the Oceanside facility will be known as the San Diego Rescue Mission, and Bread of Life will be the name of its North County branch.

Bread of Life was launched in 1999, and the past couple of years have been a transitional period for the mission.
Tim Yzaguirre, who had been a Bread of Life board member and worked more than 20 years in banking and finance, took over as director in March 2018 and set to work addressing several issues.

“When I came on board here, it was clear that we needed to make some changes,” he said, noting that the small organization did not have the ability to support the five paid staff members it had at the time. “They got a little too heavy on salary and wages.”

Bread of Life, now run by a volunteer staff except for Yzaguirre, had operated an annual winter shelter for 30 men and 20 women and in recent years had considered expanding to a year-round shelter.

Tim Yzaguirre of Bread of Life Rescue Mission (left) and Donnie Dee of the San Diego Rescue Mission stand in the Bread of Life Thrift Store on Apple Street in Oceanside.

(Don Boomer/Don Boomer)

Yzaguirre said the year-round plan was abandoned because, among other reasons, it would have required cost-prohibitive improvements to the 40-year-old building, which they do not own.

Looking at the books, Yzaguirre said it also didn’t make sense to pay rent on rooms that were only used a few months of the year, which led to shuttering the winter shelter program last year.

A room that once held beds has been converted into a classroom where people who are down and out can learn to manage household budgets, build resumes and acquire other skills that could lead to jobs and self-sufficiency.

“We do everything we can to get them back into employment and get their lives on their way,” Yzaguirre said.

A room in the back even serves as a closet for people to borrow dress clothes for job interviews.

“We want to make sure they’re dressed for success,” he said.

In another room, people in need can meet with volunteer case workers who will help connect them with benefits, job placement, temporary rooms and other services.

The mission recently added a kitchen to make 30 to 50 meals a night and up to 300 boxed meals a week. It also has a food pantry and a thrift store on its campus at 1919 Apple St. in Oceanside

With the merger comes what is expected to be a period of more growth for both missions.

Dee, himself a North County resident with a home in Vista, said he reached out to Yzaguirre early this year with an idea of unifying forces and filling a need in areas that do not have enough emergency shelters. This year’s count by the San Diego Regional Task Force on the Homeless found 242 people without shelter in Oceanside.

“We’re working with Donnie and his team to find a location,” Yzaguirre said about the goal of having another emergency shelter. “Our vision is to have a location up north that will serve about 100 men.”

Dee said the idea is to begin with an emergency shelter for men — the downtown San Diego Rescue Mission has a nightly emergency shelter for women and children — and possibly expand it once it’s up and running.

“It’s really a part of a bigger vision,” Dee said. “When you look at the point-in-time count, there’s a large number of homeless in North County, and there’s not very many shelter beds.”

Yzaguirre said having a year-round shelter will have a more successful long-term impact on the lives of homeless people than the winter shelter ever did.

“When you consider a man or a woman who has been in crisis mode for months or years at a time, how do we in any way transfer their lives in a matter of 30 or 60 days, and then put them back on the street because the shelter has to close?” he said.

Tim Yzaguirre of Bread of Life Rescue Mission (left) stands outside the mission’s headquarters in Oceanside with Donnie Dee, president and CEO of the San Diego Rescue Mission.

(Don Boomer)

Dee said the master plan, which is still in its early stage, is to open emergency shelters in North County, South Bay and East County. While still actively looking for a North County site for a Bread of Life shelter, Dee said he also is looking at a possible site for a shelter in South Bay next week.

People in the emergency shelters will be assessed and considered for enrollment in the San Diego Rescue Mission’s year-long residential academy program at its downtown headquarters, Dee said.

“Not everybody who comes into an emergency shelter may be the right fit for the Mission Academy, and we would refer them to other agencies,” Dee said. “But we have to start by getting people off the street immediately.”

Dee said he hopes property owners who hear about the plan will come forward to offer sites suitable for emergency shelters.

Yzaguirre said merging with the San Diego Rescue Mission will have several cost-saving benefits, such as the sharing of software, programs and insurance policies.

“But finances is not really the driving force,” he said. “To us, we just feel God led us to this and we’re excited about what he’ll have us do.”

Dee said the San Diego Rescue Mission is reaching out to faith-based nonprofits throughout the county in a program called Bigger, Stronger, Faster, which was launched three years ago.

“The thinking was, if we could align ourselves with other faith-based organizations in San Diego County, then we get bigger and stronger in our approach, and ultimately we get people off the street faster,” he said. “So why shouldn’t we all be doing the same thing?”

Dee said he’s already had conversation with East County Transition Living Center in El Cajon, Green Oak Ranch in Vista, In His Steps in Ramona and other organizations about forming partnerships.