CHIEF OF HOMELESS SOLUTIONS EXITS POST
Omar Passons, who heads the county’s Office of Homeless Solutions, is leaving his position.
Passons said he could not yet say where he is headed, but a county official confirmed his last day at work will be Friday.
In 2018, Passons ran to represent District 4 on the county Board of Supervisors, earning the endorsement of The San Diego Union-Tribune, but was eliminated in the primary. The seat was won that November by Nathan Fletcher, who faced former District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis in the race.
He campaigned with a plan to address generational poverty, help children and create housing for homeless people. While he didn’t win, he made enough of an impression with the county to be hired as director of Integrative Services in the Health and Human Services Agency.
He has led the Office of Homeless Solutions since its creation about a year ago and also is a member of the Regional Task Force on Homelessness’ ad hoc committee addressing homelessness among Black San Diegans.
An attorney, Passons previously was vice president of community development and policy for the
Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation and had served as a health policy analyst with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
He also served on the San Diego Mayor’s Workforce and Economic Development Advisory Committee and was on the board of directors for Voices for Children and United Way of San Diego County.
A member of The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Community Advisory Board, Passons wrote several opinion pieces for the paper and a profile on Marc Stevenson, a Father Joe’s Villages’ social worker, as part of the series “Someone San Diego Should Know.”