SAN DIEGO – A new shelter for people experiencing homelessness in San Diego is scheduled to open Monday in the Midway area.

On Friday, San Diego County Supervisor Chair Nathan Fletcher, City of San Diego Mayor, Todd Gloria and other officials toured the facility with the Lucky Duck Foundation, which donated the use of the shelter structure and covered construction costs.

“Our region urgently needs more readily available beds to provide immediate pathways off the streets for those suffering from homelessness,” said Drew Moser, Executive Director of the Lucky Duck Foundation. “Bridge shelters accomplish exactly that.”

The Rosecrans Shelter, located off Rosecrans, is expected to serve up to 150 people living on streets and sidewalks. It will be different from existing shelters because it will offer on-site behavioral health services as well as 24-hour intakes, seven days a week.

“This new Rosecrans Shelter is a stepping stone for people living on our streets,” said Chair Nathan Fletcher. “It creates new opportunities for a better life.”

During their stay, residents will be offered meals, storage for their belongings, and have access to showers, restrooms, and laundry. The shelter will also provide mental health and addiction treatment assessments, communicable disease screenings, case management, housing navigation, and connections to self-sufficiency benefits like CalWORKS, CalFresh and Medi-Cal.

“Being a guest at this shelter provides a better way to manage your mental health and the chance to beat addiction,” said Chair Fletcher. “The staff will connect people to self-sufficiency services, job opportunities and eventually a place to call home.”

While the Rosecrans Shelter, in City Council District 2 and County Supervisor District 3, is expected to primarily house persons experiencing homelessness in nearby areas, everyone staying at the shelter will be offered the same services regardless of their last place of residency.

The San Diego Housing Commission and City of San Diego has contracted with Alpha Project to operate the Rosecrans Shelter.

FOX 5 spoke with two business owners in the area Monday and they said they’ve dealt with homeless using the outside of their business as a bathroom.

“I’ve dealt with theft, breaking into cars, broken windows,” said Matt, a nearby mechanic. “They hang out here, they hang out around the corner, they hang out all over the place.”

Matt owns a mechanic shop near the new shelter and now works behind a secured gate, installed to keep homeless out.

“It’s good if it works, anything is better than what’s going on right now with the encampments on the street, it’s just a huge eyesore. It doesn’t look good, it doesn’t look good for the visitors,” he said.