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Combatting the Homelessness Crisis in San Diego

Toni Herrod

Purdue Global University

CM 220

Professor Cooper

February 8, 2022

Could you fathom sleeping on the cold hard ground and not being able to take a warm shower when you wake up? San Diego is one of the most desired places to live because of its prefect weather and beautiful scenery, while in reality the streets of downtown, beaches and underneath bridges are lined with tents and homeless individuals sleeping on the streets. The homeless population continues to increase and in April of 2021 the San Diego-Union Tribune published an article concluding that the number of first time residents suffering homelessness had doubled from the year previously, most likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, (Warth, 2021). To prevent the city of San Diego’s homeless population from continuing to climb, the local government and non-profit organizations should offer affordable and supportive housing to create an adequate living situation for them. The community will want to contribute or invest in the solution as it will positively impact the “street cosmetics,” bringing more income and most importantly aiding in minimizing the current crisis of homelessness. It has been proven over and over that when an entity invests in something, they receive it back ten-fold. It won’t be easy, and it won’t happen overnight, but it’s very possible with the right resources.

“It takes a society to combat homelessness, and a strong nation to fight poverty.” This quote by Wayne Chirisa puts it very elegantly, but homeless is not at all elegant, and is instead – quite saddening. These are people, and anyone could be in this same spot with a few shortcomings. You’ll find people treating homeless people like they are below them, treating them badly but mostly you’ll find people avoiding them. Something you could also find on any day, homeless people sharing and caring, helping each other and often times, helping the more fortunate. You see, they could teach us a good lesson on humanity because we are just humans, privileged, with no compassion. Because of this, our societies are lacking today and the homeless have minimal help or resources to improve their lives.

Once we start spiraling downward, we become overwhelmed. It really doesn’t matter where our spiral started. You could be on track to be as successful as you set out to be and one negative decision could dramatically change the rest of your life, the spiral will push you down and kick you while you’re there. David Casarez was doing well; a young software developer out of Mountain View, California who ended up living in his car for a year. David was college educated, employed and trying to start a business. But once he started spiraling, he couldn’t stop it. It was too late, and soon he was in his car, unemployed but still skilled and educated. This is just one example of the many. Many naysayers will say that the homeless are unskilled and uneducated, and therefore, why should we care about them? Maybe, because they’re still human.

Instead of treating the homeless like dogs, which people treat dogs better, we could take a second and try to understand their day to day lives. I’ve seen (several times) people recording the good they do for the homeless and then posting to social media. These people go viral and receive praise. These are things we should be doing as decent humans, without the recording of course. We as people always want the praise and therefore, we record it and ensure the world sees it. Entrepreneur Jonathan Monson was once homeless himself and was working full time while living out of his car in King County, Washington state. He says ‘the worst part’ was the cruelty he received from his neighbors; the looks, assumptions and whispers (Chastaine, 2019). Further in the interview, Jonathan recounts how he was trying to start his business in his own area, “I mean, if I’m being honest, (other cities) are a little stingy when it comes to homeless people and when it comes to helping others”.

We simply don’t recognize how in reach homelessness is for our own selves. There are many celebrities and influencers who have been homeless, even sometimes in between their successes. Some of these include Steve Harvey, Jim Carrey, Halle Berry, Sylvester Stallone, John Drew Barrymore, and Natasha Lyonne. Those opposing helping the homeless will say, “giving them meals, tents and/or toilets will make them comfortable.” As if anyone sleeping on a street, with at most a tent for privacy, who likely won’t eat could be comfortable. It’s often said that homeless people are just lazy and by giving them any assistance, you’re “enabling them.” California could do more; San Diego could do more and provide semi-permanent housing especially because it effects the youth. The youth is the future and we don’t want this vicious cycle to continue, a change must be made!

Thinking of the homeless, we often skip over the youth or totally don’t recognize the youth as a part of this group. Some of these minors are fending for themselves on the streets, living here and there, and trying to get their housing situated. “Thirty percent of youth had spent the previous night outdoors, on the street, or in a car or vacant building ((Bernstein, et all, 2008), close to ninety percent said they were trying to change their housing situation.” These kids have the same two problems: inability to finding affordable housing, inability to obtain a job that would have sufficient income (Voices from the Street, 2008).

California is a massive state hosting over 134,000 homeless, which is about 25% of the total homeless population in the US. San Diego’s population is about 1.4 million; the county’s homeless population almost doubled between 2019 and 2020, to over 4,000. The median household income for San Diego (per 2019 data) is $79,673, but it’s even impossible for families to make it at 200% of the poverty threshold, also called “economic hardship ($51,402 for a family of four).” 12.8% of the population is living in poverty, which means an individual is making less than $12,784. This must be said, $51,000 is not a living wage in any state for a family of four and the cost of living in California is significantly higher in comparison to the rest of the country (represented below).

COST OF LIVING	California	United States
Overall	149.9	100
Grocery	105.1	100
Health	92.4	100
Housing	239.1	100
Median Home Cost	$684,800	$291,700
Utilities	102.4	100
Transportation	133.1	100
Miscellaneous	103.7	100

100=National Average

San Diego is 325 square miles and is the 17th most populous metro in the country. The city has a $1.7 billion-dollar annual budget for FY22. The mayor, Todd Gloria, has put on the website to dedicate $92.2 million of the budget to the housing crisis due to the pandemic (Gloria, 2022). This is to compare to the $43.7 million they have dedicated to the homeless. Once again, it’s been proven that wise investing can provide choices and even generate income. If the mayor and other city officials, non-profits and small business owners would come together, they could dedicate time, resources and funds to eradicate this issue. The mayor has even come up with a plan for giving San Diegans “sexy” streets, a project called “Sexy Streets for All of Us.” This is for “all of us” because this is $10 million dedicated to historically underserved neighborhoods, while they have an additional $30 million to maintain the other streets around San Diego. It would prove useful to make the streets manicured, as this will show the people the mayor is here for you, too. How much more manicured could the streets of San Diego be, besides helping to remove the people sleeping there? Well, Mr. Gloria has had similar thoughts and has begun a new effort. Under the Homelessness Strategies Department, People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) program established in 2008 to provide services for Connections Housing. In the end, if the people of San Diego do not invest in the homeless population – it will cost them, over and over. Taxes on the people and the city will be covering police and emergency services, hospital services, and corrective procedures. The mayor has started to ensure some relief.

Reverend Faith Fowler in Detroit is a leader in forward thinking in this homeless issue; she operates an anti-poverty nonprofit, Cass Community Social Services. Detroit is another major US city like San Diego, with almost double the homeless population in about half of the total population. Cass Community Social Services has built tiny houses, furnished them and made housing available at small mortgage payments, which becomes owned by the tenants in a few short years. Detroit’s government is also pushing programs like the Housing Choice Vouchers and Moving Up Vouchers (2020 State of Homelessness, 2020). Detroit has a $1.1 billion-dollar budget for this fiscal year, in which $23.7 million is dedicated specifically to housing and revitalization, not to include the funds appropriated to Civil Rights, Inclusion, and Opportunity, or Planning and Development.

There many plans set in to place to combat the homelessness crisis in Southern California, there is still so much work to be done. We as a community and the local government need to come together to put the plan in motion. The above data creates a vivid picture of the epidemic we are facing as the number of homeless and people living in poverty continues to increase. San Diego has the resources; the city may just need to use another city’s outline.

References

(nd). Cost of living in California. https://www.bestplaces.net/cost_of_living/state/california.

Bernstein, N., Foster, L. K. (). Voices from the street: A survey of homeless youth by their peers. https://www.issuelab.org/resources/11579/11579.pdf.

Chastaine, D. (2019, December 6). A detailed journey – from homeless to business owner. https://www.covingtonreporter.com/news/a-detailed-journey-from-homeless-to-business-owner/.

CPI San Diego. (2020, April 26). Poverty, income, and earnings in the city of San Diego, 2018. https://cpisandiego.org/city-of-san-diego-poverty-income-earnings/#:~:text=In%202018%2C%20the%20poverty%20threshold,cost%20areas%20like%20San%20Diego..

Duggan, M. E. (nd). City of Detroit Budget. https://detroitmi.gov/sites/detroitmi.localhost/files/2021-07/FY22%20Adopted%20Budget.pdf.

Gloria, T. (nd). Adopted Budget Fiscal Year 2022. https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/fy22ab_v1cbo.pdf.

Goldman, T. R. (2019, July 11). In Detroit, tiny homes are more than a lifestyle trend. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/07/11/housing-detroit-tiny-homes-trend-227274/.

Holloway, R. (2020, August 4). Homelessness in America. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/cc55a733dcd84d9381550023e01fe5ea.

Marks, G. (2018, August 3). This entrepreneur risked it all and ended up homeless handing out resumes on a street corner. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/317813.

Wong, L. (2021, September 30). Celebrities who fell into homelessness. https://www.ranker.com/list/celebrities-who-fell-into-homelessness/polkadotking.

KBPS Public Media. (2021, April 27). New Homeless Population Almost Doubles in 2020. broadcast, California. Retrieved from https://www.kpbs.org/podcasts/san-diego-news-now/2021/04/27/new-homeless-population-almost-doubles-2020.