Homelessness in San Diego (Los Angeles, San Francisco: city hall, house, camping)

[malcorub16]

You know, since San Francisco and Los Angeles have very active threads about the homeless crisis plaguing those cities I thought I would create one here as well.

I took the family to the Symphony downtown, we had a fun time this afternoon at a show called the Science of Music. Symphony Hall and Towers is always a beautiful place to visit. It's not, however, fun walking back to our vehicle a block away and myself and daughter almost stepping on human feces smeared on the sidewalk in front of the SD Union Tribune building. We managed to avoid it but then noticed another pile of human poop in the courtyard of that same building.

On another occasion recently, while downtown I saw a syringe with needle just lying in the middle of the sidewalk, I've never seen that before and I go to downtown quite a bit. It's funny/disturbing, because earlier in that week I joked about being glad that SD is more of a meth town and not a heroin town like San Francisco and us not having the reported needle problem they do. Then sure enough, I stumble across one while near the baseball stadium. I kicked it off to the side so nobody would accidentally step on it, I wasn't about to pick it up though.

I am a pretty tolerant guy when it comes to grittiness, I can deal with a little urine stench and seeing tents here and there but it seems like the situation downtown is getting worse and worse with no solution in sight. Today's situation really disturbed me being that we had just come from such a nice place but right outside was a different story.

People on the SF and LA forums attribute their homeless policies to "whacky liberal ideaology" that they claim runs rampant at their city halls, but here in SD city council is pretty moderate and the mayor is even an R yet we have the same problems. El Cajon is even more conservative than San Diego and it too has a terrible homeless problem.

So what is really the cause of the rise in homelessness in San Diego? I am curious what you all believe it is and if there are any possible solutions or relief in the near future.

My thought is that this has to do with prison realignment and non violent/non sexual offenders being released from prison to the County jails and then back onto the streets... anecdotally it seems this is one of the bigger causes more recently. What's your take?

[cruitr]

It's the weather. Living outdoors in San Diego 12 months a year is pretty easy.

[malcorub16]

El Cajon has had tough laws on homelessness since last year and the conservative Republican mayor has caught plenty of flak for it. I am not sure this is necessarily the solution to reducing homelessness and it definitely hasn't yet, but it is certainly better than not doing anything.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC5XCG9g6Xc

[cruitr]

Add free meals and the homeless are riding trains from the cold Midwest to San Diego.

[likealady]

As an SF Bay Area resident visiting DTSD, I found it to be really quite clean. I thought there were more cockroaches downtown than homeless. Interestingly enough, near the opera, there were a couple porta-potties and wash basins. One homeless guy was washing his clothing in it, which might be why SD doesn't stink as much as SF. Only thing I can think of is cutting benefits and food and see if anything improves, the ones who're mentally not right need to be forced into treatment imho, because they are a danger to themselves and the public.

[eastcoastbias]

We tolerate the issue we are more sympathetic we have non profits in the business of capitalizing on the $$$ that is allocated to band aid the issue - more so than other cities.

So yeah I think it is a policy and a priority issue. We cry and scream about affordable housing and the remedy is getting folks off the street when a good majority of these folks cant sustain a life within four walls and a roof. There are countless of others helped but we don’t necessarily place an emphasis on providing better housing situations for capable individuals.

[acctgirl]

Exactly! I once heard a guy say that even if one was homeless he could live in San Diego just fine because the weather is mild year round.

Originally Posted by cruitr

It's the weather. Living outdoors in San Diego 12 months a year is pretty easy.

[jnojr]

Originally Posted by malcorub16

I am a pretty tolerant guy when it comes to grittiness, I can deal with a little urine stench and seeing tents here and there but it seems like the situation downtown is getting worse and worse with no solution in sight.

Tolerating a little bit of a problem invites more of it.

We should be actively repelling the vagrants. Tents should be removed and destroyed immediately. Stolen shopping carts should be impounded. Garbage should be destroyed. Piles of citations for trespassing, illegal camping, illegal fires, littering, drug paraphernalia, stolen property, etc. should be liberally handed out.

Many will say, "Oh, but that doesn't solve the problem!" That's correct... but nothing can. What we can do, though, is solve our problem... make it clear the transients are not welcome here, and the draw of the weather isn't worth the hassle. They will go somewhere else, and we will have usable streets again.

[jnojr]

Originally Posted by likealady

As an SF Bay Area resident visiting DTSD, I found it to be really quite clean.

Given what much of San Francisco looks like, that isn't exactly reassuring. It's like someone looking at a filthy house and saying, "Oh, I've been in a hoarder's house, this isn't nearly as bad!"

[moved]

Originally Posted by cruitr

Add free meals and the homeless are riding trains from the cold Midwest to San Diego.

Yep.