Addressing Homelessness in San Diego

San Diego City Council met last Monday to discuss the current homelessness issue in San Diego.

NBC San Diego said, “San Diego State University (SDSU), the Mayor’s office, the County of San Diego and the San Diego Housing Commission all presented a series of reports at the special City Council session.”

Several policies addressing homelessness are already in place; however, there is still much to be done about the issue.

The severity of homelessness in San Diego requires officials to evaluate current policies as well as implement new ones as seems fit. The City Council met to address the issue with fresh ideas and policies for tackling the issue.

Even though homelessness is such a large issue in San Diego, this is one of the first City Council meetings that residents have seen addressing the issue collectively.

It is difficult for experts to name every possible cause of homelessness, but this meeting helped officials identify major contributors to the growing problem.

Lindsey Lupo, professor and co-chair of the History and Political Science Department at PLNU, said, “There have been a lot of conversations in San Diego about the impact of lack of affordable housing on the problem of homelessness. It’s likely only part of the problem, but it’s a major part of the problem.”

“Homelessness looks different in each of our neighborhoods but at the end of the day, it’s clear that we have many people living unsheltered in our city and we need to do more to address this issue,” said Myrtle Cole, San Diego City Councilmember.

Members discussed several issues and possible solutions at the meeting, and the community hopes to see positive changes to the current system in the near future.

According to CW6 San Diego, “Mayor Faulconer announced that he plans to make (a) public…proposal creating the city’s first dedicated revenue system for homelessness.

The plan will be released in the coming weeks.”

Individuals can be a part of the solution to homelessness. Lupo said, “Students can get involved with the Regional Task Force on the Homeless, Alpha Project and Father Joe’s Villages.”

Each of these organizations works toward eradicating homelessness in San Diego. Homelessness is a growing problem in San Diego, and the City Council meeting is just one attempt to address the issue.