Our Approach

Cutting the experience of child poverty in half by 2030 won’t be easy. But it is possible.

We’re on a mission to change the way San Diego addresses child poverty.

We’ll involve more people in a different kind of initiative than San Diego has ever tried before.
Because we know it is going to take people power for the structural and systemic changes families need to feel a difference in their day to day lives.

Focused Effort

When a challenge feels big and complex, the important thing is to just get started.

We’re getting started by focusing on four critical building blocks affected by child poverty:

Healthy
food

Stable
housing

Reliable
healthcare

Quality child care
and early education

Why focus on these building blocks?

Healthy food, stable housing, reliable healthcare, and quality childcare and early education are basic needs. Without them, it’s hard for parents and caregivers to focus on longer-term goals for their families.

And children who grow up without these resources are at higher risk of hunger, stress, illness, and lost learning that could hold them back later in life.

Ensuring that every child has access to these essentials sets families and children up for success.

in pursuit of a more just society

Nothing will change until a critical mass of us plans, acts, and speaks as one community.

By thinking inclusively, collaboratively, and strategically, we can direct our combined energy toward lifting up the solutions we already know work and identifying new ways to fill in the gaps.

Through San Diego for Every Child, people of all backgrounds, professions, ZIP codes, and political stripes will stand up for children.

shared vision

San Diego for Every Child is born from deep respect for existing organizations and families, and confidence that greater coordination across the safety net will benefit everyone.

We will bring together organizations working across our focus areas of hunger, housing, healthcare, and childcare and early education, informed by an approach called collective impact.

Our goal is to get every organization pulling in the same direction to dramatically reduce the experience of child poverty.

Complicated processes. Fractured networks. Gaps in essential services.

Where other people see problems, we see opportunities for transformation.

San Diego for Every Child is working directly with community organizations and San Diego families to identify priority issues and generate innovative solutions.

We believe in putting families’ perspectives at the center.

Sometimes we’ll try things that don’t work. Some solutions will be more successful than anyone expected.

But we’ll keep going in pursuit of a system that makes sense for every family and child and share we’re sharing what we’re learning along the way.