Panel on Solutions for the San Diego Houseless Population

Helping Solve Houselessness

Key representatives on the forefront of clean-up and outreach efforts discussed the current situation and programs designed to address the downtown houseless population.

Homelessness is a complex problem. San Diego is taking a holistic human-centric approach and involving a wide variety of organizations. The people who work in the field in the many organizations who are working together to improve the situation are very dedicated.

Housing First

Mayor Gloria’s office is focused in reduce homelessness in downtown via housing first.

The cure to homelessness is housing – shelter, permanent, transitional – provided in coordination with federal, state and municipal organizations. There are four prongs to attacking this problem:

Outreach

creating a cohort to individuals trained to engage with homeless individuals.

Invested in Path = Outreach workers who engage on an individual level and connect them with appropriate services. There are many types of individuals and situations who need different types of support and programs. Oversight of current services to determine what programs are working so that efforts are maximized. CalTrans Highway systems are now involved to focus on these areas.

Shelter

Almost 1500 shelter beds in SD and they are almost always full. Father Joe’s, Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, Alpha Project are partners in this initiative.

Behavioral health services

Develop programs to assist individuals with mental health or addiction problems. Coordinate with County Councilman Fletcher for Sea Hearth Shelter for substance abuse.

Permanent Housing

Downtown Partnership for family unification. Heightened coordination to partner with many organizations in county and state to SD

Housing Commission

New initiatives are underway to address groups with special needs, including a Woman’s Shelter, Safe Haven Transitional Program, Midway Center Shelter, Senior Centers, LGBTQ+ Center. Keep up to date with the activities at this site.

Downtown Operations

The Clean & Safe Team works day in and day out to keep Downtown at its best with enhanced maintenance and safety. They also completes a monthly observational count of individuals who are sleeping in the streets, tents, etc. This count informs other agencies regarding where individuals are located, changes to this population, trends, etc. The number of tents has been reduced, though there are currently approximately 1200 individuals. Current trends impacting homeless individuals – rent increases and costs, more youth and seniors are being displaced, and more substance abuse is being observed. Clean & Safe team engages with individuals and refers them to appropriate organizations, assistance providers or SROs (single room occupancy).

Enforcement

The Neighborhood Policing Department focuses on quality-of-life crimes and assisting unsheltered population using a Human-centered approach.

There are two teams with specific skills and responsibilities:

  • HOT (Homeless Outreach Team) – 12 officers attired in casual apparel to connect with homeless to get them to accept services and assistance

  • Enforcement – homelessness is not a crime, however regulations exist, and this team enforces them. Officers use a progressive approach, and individuals have 4 engagements before being incarcerated. Encroachment is the most common offense, illegal lodging (camping on public land) and overnight camping. Shelter and services are offered twice to offenders with a warning. The fourth and final time individuals can be arrested. This group also deals with special issues, including the small portion of the population who are unwilling to accept assistance and substance abuse. Due to changes in state laws it is no longer a felony to possess drugs ie: fentanyl, methamphetamines, etc., so individuals receive a citation for these offenses, they are no longer taken to jail.

How to take action:

  • Call 911 for violent behavior or eminent threat

  • Use the Get It Done App for encampments. Note that there are ~1100 reports lodged each week and currently calls take 20 days to address due to the increase in homelessness and a nearly 25% reduction in law enforcement personnel.

Some Statistics

Homelessness in San Diego has grown by at least 10% since 2020, the Regional Task Force on Homelessness revealed in its 2022 WeAllCount Point-in-Time Count, a one-day snapshot of the minimum number of San Diegans living in emergency shelters, transitional housing, safe havens and on streets and along riverbeds.

There are some bright spots in the data, the task force claims, including a 30% decrease in the veteran homeless population and a 7% decrease in the chronic homelessness population versus 2020. The county also saw an increase in transitional aged youth in shelters. Additional shelter options throughout the region also made a difference as well as a large housing effort in downtown San Diego housing roughly 150 San Diegans the week leading up to the count.

Our Speakers

Alonso Vivas - Downtown San Diego Partnership - Executive Director

Alonso is the Executive Director of the Downtown San Diego Partnership’s Clean & Safe Program. He appreciates working with community members to provide a safe, clean, and pleasant environment, and working alongside Clean & Safe’s Maintenance and Safety Ambassadors every single day. Alonso was born in Santa Ana, California, and grew up in Tijuana and Chula Vista, where he managed his family’s businesses (a tortilla shop in Tijuana and an automotive business in Chula Vista).

Hafsa Kaka - Mayor Gloria’s Office - Director of Homelessness Strategies & Solutions

Kaka brings more than 15 years of experience in homeless, mental health and social services.  Kaka holds bachelor’s degrees in psychology and social behavior, and criminology, law and society from the University of California - Irvine. She also holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. An immigrant and woman of color, Kaka hopes to address homelessness through an equity lens and with a collaborative perspective.

Cpt. Shawn Takeuchi - San Diego Police Department

Shawn has been a member of the SDPD for more than 25 years, where he has held many positions. He currently leads the department’s Neighborhood Policing Division which includes these programs: Homeless Outreach Teams (HOT), Neighborhood Policing Teams (NPT), Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT), Serial Inebriate Program (SIP), Crime Prevention Unit (CPU) and Crime Free Multi-Housing Program.

Friends of Downtown