On Tuesday, the City Council decided that it would once again site a winter homeless shelter in downtown San Diego. My colleague, Adrian Florido, wrote extensively about the decision and the brouhaha created by the plan.
Hours before the meeting, I stood outside City Hall in the shadow of the 13-story building, where a group of homeless youth was gathered.
Joshua Turner, who is at the front of this frame, is 18 years old. He says he moved to San Diego from Florida with big dreams of becoming a video game programmer and a writer. His plans have been derailed, for now. Turner currently lives on the streets. He says that the recession has made it nearly impossible to find a job.
“Even your high school diploma is nothing but litter now,” he says.
In the back of the frame, 21-year-old Diana Woods holds onto a small gray cat named TC. Behind her, City Hall looms high, housing the decision makers who wrangle over how to cope with San Diego’s homeless population.