Next week, volunteers with the Regional Task Force on Homelessness will sweep county streets to try to count all unhoused residents.
It’s a critical data-capturing event — mandated by the federal government — that offers a broad view of our foremost crisis.
But where do we stand now?
At the threshold of 2024, our journalists survey the scene.
This week on the Voice of San Diego Podcast, hosts Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Jakob McWhinney are joined by senior investigative reporters Lisa Halverstadt and Will Huntsberry.
Before jumping in the studio, Halverstadt called city of San Diego Chief Operating Officer Eric Dargan about a big announcement: Last week, Mayor Gloria revealed a new fundraising campaign to combat homelessness. Dargan said money donated to this campaign does not go to the city. The San Diego Foundation will receive the contributions. Then, Dargan will decide how the funds will be used with input from an advisory board he’s assembling.
On the show, Halverstadt shared more details of this campaign and Dargan’s appeal to all city residents to pitch in their money or time.
Plus, our crew reviewed the current homeless count as the county continues to fight its deficit: For 21 months in a row, more people have become homeless for the first time than found new homes.
Finally, they talk camping bans. In the summer of 2023, the city of San Diego passed a camping ban, which prioritized clearing tents near sensitive areas like schools — and pushes folks to shelters or safe camping sites. But as a result, more people are staying mobile or camping near the San Diego river.
Now, other cities in the region are considering camping bans in public spaces. And a lot of leaders are waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court’s say. The Court agreed to weigh in on whether cities can ban camping — which could hammer out a lot squishy details city leaders have wrestled over for years, including what type of shelter must be offered before clearing out, or ticketing, homeless residents.
But Also…
We’ve got tickets for our first live podcast of 2024: Get them here. We’ll be at Modern Times Beer and Coffee in Point Loma to celebrate our 19th anniversary.
The Sac is back! Our weekly Sacramento Report, written by Deborah Brennan, returns today. I have legitimately missed this product and I’m stoked to have it again. Brennan will be following San Diego lawmakers, new laws, elections, gossip and policy pertinent to us. Check it out.
A recent NBC UT poll determined that it’s anyone’s guess who will finish 2nd in the San Diego Mayoral Primary allowing for a dramatic runoff this November. We have solutions here, http://www.dannytri.com