St. Paul’s PACE Champion of Change

Bruce Carron has lived at Talmadge Gateway, a Wakeland supportive housing community in San Diego, since 2017. Prior to that, Bruce was living on the streets for over two years while struggling with various health issues that he could not get treatment for. When Bruce moved into Talmadge, the community had a partnership with the St. Paul’s PACE medical program for seniors, so he enrolled and finally got treatment for his illnesses. Bruce says “I am alive because of St. Paul’s PACE.” Now, Bruce is a major advocate for supportive housing combined with medical services like PACE; in fact, he has invited multiple San Diego politicians to tour Talmadge, including District 4 Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, District 9 San Diego City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera, and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. When speaking with politicians, Bruce continues to reinforce the question, “If this can be done here, why can’t this be done everywhere?”

Recently, Bruce received two prestigious awards honoring his advocacy efforts. These include the Wise Elder Change Maker Award from UCSD and the Outstanding Advocate Award through the San Diego Housing Federation’s Ruby Awards. When asked about what these awards mean to him, Bruce emphasizes, “I’ve had this vision of bringing all of these advocacy groups together for years and I’m glad the gears are finally turning…I do it because I want to.”

Bruce is also a member of the San Diego Housing Federation and a Board Member of the Townspeople community organization.