The problem of homelessness in San Diego has been around for a long time.
But while the latest report on the number of people who are homeless may offer some hope, the problem is still a big problem.
The numbers for the month of November from the Downtown San Diego Partnership, first reported this week by the Voice of San Diego, includes some good news and some bad news.
The 1,172 people counted as homeless downtown last month is the lowest count in two years since November of 2021. The count represents a 44 percent decrease from the record 2,104 people counted in May of this year.
But as the Voice of San Diego points out, what this latest count doesn’t reveal is where unsheltered people have relocated outside the downtown area. As they reported, homeless residents often just pick up what belongings and make-shift tents they may have and just move somewhere else when police crackdown as they cops have been doing in recent months.
Homeless advocates like Donnie Dee at the San Diego Rescue Mission, Jim Vargas at Father Joe’s Villages and Bob McElroy at the Alpha Project know what’s really happening when it comes to solving the homeless problem. They work at it every day.
And their voices should be the ones that city and county leaders listen to as they look for answers to San Diego’s homeless problem.
(Photo local reporting partner 10News)