Morning Report: Surge of Newly Homeless San Diegans Outpacing Housing Efforts

There’s a hard truth behind San Diego’s increasingly visible homelessness crisis: Hundreds of homeless residents are moving into homes each month, but the service system can’t keep up with the tide of San Diegans falling into homelessness.

New data from the Regional Task Force on Homelessness, the countywide group that coordinates the local response to homelessness, reveals that 11,861 formerly unhoused people found homes over the past 12 months – and 15,327 became homeless for the first time.

Put simply, an average of 10 people were housed for every 13 people who fell into homelessness, our Lisa Halverstadt reports.

The disconnect explains the region’s lack of obvious progress in addressing the crisis despite increased local investments in shelter beds and other services.

“This homeless crisis response system is not built for these kind of numbers,” Task Force CEO Tamera Kohler said.

You can read the full story here.

Very much related: The surge in newly homeless residents has inspired increased discussions about how San Diego could better prevent homelessness, including new city and county pilot programs to try to help people hold onto their homes.

Today Nathan Fletcher, chair of the county Board of Supervisors, will ask fellow supervisors to back his proposal to direct county staff to create a homelessness prevention program using data to predict the likelihood that a person will become homeless and directing resources accordingly.

The Union-Tribune has more details on Fletcher’s pitch, which is modeled after much-publicized Los Angeles County program involving several agencies focused on zeroing in on residents most at risk of losing their homes.

Vista City Manager Resigns Because of New City Council Policy

Patrick Johnson, Vista’s city manager of 11 years, resigned on Oct. 13 because of a new council policy that limits his hiring authority.

The council approved a measure last month that requires the city manager to get approval from a majority of the City Council before hiring department heads. For the past 11 years, Johnson had full authority to hire and appoint department heads.

Johnson submitted his letter of resignation one day before the new policy went into effect, saying that the policy fundamentally changed his position and that he could no longer stay on because of it.

The City Council will discuss the separation agreement in a closed-session meeting on today and will appoint an acting city manager in the open-session meeting.

Read the full store here.

In Other News 

• In a new op-ed for Voice of San Diego, Corey Gustafson, a candidate running against Rep. Scott Peters, makes the case for why Congress needs to approve transferring money to the International Boundary and Water Commission to address a sewage crisis that often forces local beaches to close. 
• The state exam scores of students in San Diego County and statewide significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to spring 2022 scores released by the state Monday. San Diego County saw a 4 percent decrease in students who passed the English language arts exam compared to 2019 and a six percent decrease in students who passed the math exam compared to 2019. (Union-Tribune)
• September saw a spike in migrant apprehensions in San Diego County and along the southern border. According to Customs and Border Protection, border agents apprehended 15,898 migrants in San Diego County last month, an increase of more than a thousand apprehensions compared to those made in August. (CBS 8)
• ICYMI: Election season is here, and this year, we’ve rounded up our in-depth reporting, news analysis, podcast episodes and live debates in one spot. Visit the San Diego Election Hub to get the info you need before you vote.

The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt, Tigist Layne and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.