Former San Diego Mayor, Police Chief Call For Action On Homelessness

By Elizabeth Ireland, Times of San Diego:

Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and ex-Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman joined with local business leaders Monday to decry the persistent homelessness “crisis” in the city and the “failure” of elected officials to address it.

Speaking at the downtown Alpha Project Bridge Shelter, Faulconer said the recent point-in-time count figures “are deeply troubling and reveal the gravity of the homelessness crisis in our city, and reflect what we’ve seen with our own eyes: a humanitarian crisis spiraling out of control.”

“The city administration’s failure to effectively address this crisis is unacceptable,” Faulconer said in a statement.

On Thursday, the Regional Task Force on Homelessness announced that no less than 10,264 people were experiencing homelessness across the region. That number includes 5,171 unsheltered San Diegans with 5,093 individuals in shelters and transitional housing.

Faulconer, who served as mayor from 2014-2020, called a proposed ordinance going before the City Council Tuesday to address the homeless crisis “highly flawed.”

If the council passes it, the “Unsafe Camping Ordinance” would prohibit tent encampments in all public spaces throughout the city if shelter beds are available and would ban tent encampments at all times in certain sensitive areas — parks, canyons and near schools, transit stations and homeless shelters — regardless of shelter capacity.

Faulconer said the proposal lacks 24-hour, seven-day citywide enforcement and additional shelter capacity, making it effectively useless.

Zimmerman said there is an urgent need for collaborative solutions.

“If their proposal passes as written, this will pit street against street and neighborhood against neighborhood throughout the city of San Diego,” said Zimmerman, who Faulconer appointed as police chief in 2014.

“We need and deserve a consistent approach to enforcement throughout our entire city, for the sake of all residents, homeless and otherwise,” added Zimmerman, who served as chief until 2018.

Read more here.

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