Regional Task Force on Homelessness

Don’t ask Brother Batie his real first name.

“Most people don’t know my government name, and I don’t share it too often,” he said. “I’m kind of like Batman.”

While many people don’tq know his proper name, there are many people who do know Brother Batie, who has helped countless young people stay housed and avoid homelessness.

Helping struggling youth comes naturally for Batie, who had his own challenges while growing up and sometimes couch-surfed at friends’ houses, which he said sharpened his social skills and has given him empathy with his clients.

Batie graduated from San Marcos High School in 2009 and attended CSU San Marcos, where he first became involved in community services through his involvement with the fraternity Alpha Psi Rho.

After graduating, he took a job at a sleep-medicine company, where he developed his business acumen.

It was a good job but not something he wanted to do long-term, and in 2019 Batie took an entry-level job at the YMCA. As a housing specialist, he helped a case manager with day-to-day tasks, built furniture and prepared rooms at an Oceanside house owned by the YMCA.

Things clicked. Batie brought both lived experience and a business sense to his new job.

“It was really cool to use both sides of my brain,” he said.

Batie was promoted to housing operations manager after two and a half years. By then, the YMCA had purchased a 25-bed apartment complex in Escondido for former foster youth and homeless runaways, greatly expanding the services the nonprofit offered in North County.

Last June, the federal Family & Youth Services Bureau awarded the YMCA a grant to launch the Direct Cash Transfer Program, which Batie oversees in his new position as Social Services Program Manager.

Under the demonstration grant, 18 San Diego County residents, ages 18 to 21 and in unstable housing or at risk of homelessness, were given $500 each month and access to social services for one year.

Clients also receive financial literacy workshops and monthly presentations on subjects they are interested in.

The program will have three 18-member cohorts, and the first is in their final month. Batie said he’s confident all will become self-sufficient.

“Youth homelessness service is adult homelessness prevention,” he said. “If you prevent someone from entering youth homelessness, there’s a higher chance they will not be an adult homeless person.”

Working closely with cohort members, he said there are many misconceptions about young people facing homelessness, including that they are lazy and exploiting the system.

Batie said those are untrue perceptions, and he sees a little of himself in the clients he works with.

“I think if you were to hyper-zoom in on specific areas of my life, it’d be like,’ Oh, he’s not doing the right thing’ or ‘He’s on the path to trouble,’” he said. “But with guidance, support, allowing myself to make mistakes, I’m just fine now.”

-by Gary Warth
YMCA of San Diego County

New Point-in-Time numbers are in and they show real progress in reducing homelessness.

The reductions benefit all of us, everyone in San Diego.

Let’s keep it up!

Thomas Lovell wasn’t sure the award was meant for him.

When he learned he had been selected for an RTFH housing team award, his first reaction was that there had been a mistake.

After all, Lovell doesn’t work directly with clients. He doesn’t place people into housing. Most of his work happens behind a computer screen.

But without his work, much of that housing and many of those services, wouldn’t exist.

As director of government grants at Father Joe’s Villages, Lovell helps secure millions of dollars each year that fund housing, healthcare and other critical services. Public grants alone are expected to provide $17 million of the organization’s $70 million budget this year.

“Tamera called me and she literally said, ‘You are seen, you are important,’” Lovell said. “Wow, this is really, really meaningful.”

The 37-year-old Oregon native didn’t set out to become a grant writer.
He was the first in his family to attend college, earning a double major in political science and sociology at Georgetown University, where he developed an interest in inequality and how systems shape outcomes.

An internship in Congress offered a reality check. “I thought that changing the world would be really easy,” he said. “But I got a dose of reality.”

Rather than discouraging him, the experience reshaped his approach. “It’s why I really believe in partnerships,” Lovell said. “We have different expertise and points of view, but a lot of us are working toward similar goals.”

He gained experience in grant writing — and a deeper appreciation for those working directly with vulnerable populations. “I felt I could make a difference behind the scenes,” he said.

Lovell joined FJV in 2014 as a grant writer and was promoted to director of government grants in 2024.

“It’s so much more than writing,” he said. “I’m connecting the dots, navigating complicated requirements and figuring out what each funder is really asking for.”

But for Lovell, the work is ultimately about the people those dollars serve.

About once a week, he leaves his office to visit Father Joe’s East Village campus and connect with staff and clients.

He also participates in the annual point-in-time count of people experiencing homelessness — an experience that has shaped his perspective.

Last year, while surveying an area near the San Diego-Coronado Bridge, Lovell came across a tent filled with children’s shoes.

“The father unzipped the tent and said, ‘I’m getting my girls ready for school,’” he said, adding, “I’m thinking about how my daughter is safe at home, We can do better than this.”

When he returned to the same location this year, the tents were gone.

“I choose to believe that that family and others are housed now,” he said.

For Lovell, it’s a reminder that while the work may happen behind the scenes, the impact is real. “There’s still a lot of work to do,” he said.

He Doesn’t House People—But His Work Makes it Possible
By Gary Warth

Watch a short video with Thomas here 👇

A heartfelt thank you to every volunteer who joined us for the Point-in-Time Count. Your time, energy, and compassion make all the difference in our efforts to understand and end homelessness in San Diego County. 💙

Stay connected with the Regional Task Force on Homelessness to see the results and learn how your work shapes regional solutions, follow us on social media and sign up for our mailing list at rtfhsd.org. Together, we’re building a stronger, more informed community.