North County Report: ‘15 Years Later, Here I am.’ What a Snapshot of Vista’s Homeless Population Reveals

Last Thursday, as I was driving to Vista at 3:30 a.m., I had déjà vu.  

It was my second year taking part in the annual point-in-time count, the region’s homeless census, and I was shadowing volunteers in Vista again. I wondered how, or if, this year would be different. I wondered what I would learn and see and feel this time around. 

Last year’s homeless census counted a record high of more than 10,200 homeless people countywide.  

North County had the third-largest homeless population in the county with 1,436 people, making up 14 percent of the region’s homeless population, data shows.   

Once I arrived at the meeting location, volunteers were already gathering. By 4 a.m., there were about 60 of us bundled up, with coffees in hand, preparing for the hours ahead. It was Jan. 25. 

The organizers gave us instructions and split everyone into groups. They handed us flashlights, safety vests and maps. I was headed for downtown Vista. 

One member of our group, Jim, drove while the rest of us kept a close eye on the streets, sidewalks, parked cars, bushes and parks. Every few minutes, we would park the car and walk around, checking behind buildings, peering into vehicles and peeking around corners looking for people sleeping on the street. 

After about four and a half hours, our group counted about 15 people in the downtown area. Here’s what I learned from our experience. 

Reminder: The point-in-time count is an incomplete count. Voice of San Diego has previously reported that the numbers represent a minimum of San Diego’s homeless population. Other data by the Regional Taskforce and other organizations has proven that this count is only a snapshot of the growing homelessness crisis in the county.   

This year, like last year, the count took place only a couple of days after severe rainstorms caused flooding and damage all over the county. The weather undoubtedly displaced homeless people throughout the region, so it’s likely that many were not counted. 

Vehicular homelessness is on the rise: About half of the unhoused people we spoke to were living in their vehicles. This was completely different from my experience last year, where we didn’t find anyone living in their vehicle. 

The organizers warned us this was something to look out for because when most people become homeless for the first time, they start out living in their cars.  

For more than a year, the number of people falling into homelessness has far outpaced the number of people finding housing, according to monthly reports by the Regional Task Force on Homelessness. And many of those people falling into homelessness, live in their cars before living on the streets. 

Almost all the people we surveyed who were living in their vehicles were experiencing homelessness for the first time.  

It can be difficult to spot people living in their vehicles, especially in the dark. Many people have their windows covered, and a couple of people denied living in their cars even after we found them sleeping in their vehicles. 

So, the likelihood of undercounting is high. 

Chronic homelessness is still prevalent: Though most of the people living in their vehicles were experiencing homelessness for the first time, most of the people we spoke to who were living on the streets had been homeless multiple times and for several years. 

Some people had sought out homeless shelters at one point or another, while others had never been interested in entering a homeless shelter. 

Some had mental health conditions, disabilities and substance use problems brought on by years of living on the street. Others were adamant that they had never used drugs or alcohol. 

One thing they all had in common was none of them ever imagined they would end up chronically homeless. 

One man named Herman has been homeless for 15 years. It all started when he lost his job, and then everything came crashing down around him, he told us.  

“They just kept taking everything from me and I couldn’t catch up,” he said. “Fifteen years later, here I am.” 

In Other News 

• ICYMI: I wrote about how one Del Mar council member’s criticism of San Diego’s trains and SANDAG’s highly anticipated underground train tunnel have made him somewhat of an outlier. Read the profile here. (Voice of San Diego) 
• A land slide in San Clemente halted passenger train travel between San Diego and Orange counties since last week, and there’s still no timeline on when rail service can safely resume. (Union-Tribune) 
• Last week’s rainstorm caused flooding and damage to homes and businesses in Leucadia, now residents are pleading with Encinitas city officials to fix the area’s drainage problems that haven’t been upgraded for decades. (Union-Tribune) 
• The Oceanside City Council finalized changes to the city’s inclusionary housing policy, which now requires developers to include at least 15 percent affordable housing in citywide residential projects. The previous inclusionary policy was 10 percent. (Coast News)