San Diego County housed 800 homeless individuals in July, marking a step forward in addressing the region's homelessness crisis. However, this accomplishment is overshadowed by the fact that 1,200 more people in the region were pushed into homelessness during the same month due to the area's housing costs, according to a tweet by Ned Resnikoff, Policy Director at California YIMBY.
In July, San Diego County housed 800 homeless people.
— Ned Resnikoff (@resnikoff) August 17, 2023
That same month, the region's housing costs pushed 1,200 more people into homelessness.
That's a perfect illustration of why CA won't get its arms around homelessness without building many more homes. https://t.co/v2w4oIy0Xo
Despite the county's efforts in connecting 800 homeless individuals to some form of housing in July, the numbers in the San Diego Union-Tribune's report reveal that the crisis is growing faster than it can be contained. For every seven people housed in July, ten more lost their homes. The report attributes the growing issue to a variety of factors including addiction, mental illness, and a lack of affordable housing.
A nationwide study by real estate company Home Bay found a clear correlation between the lack of affordable housing and high rates of homelessness, adding to the growing body of research highlighting the connection between the two issues. It is reported that expensive cities tend to have a higher number of people living on the streets. The median price for a house, condo, or townhouse in San Diego County recently rose to $835,000, exacerbating the problem in the area.
As a result of the increasing homelessness rates, local governments have started to enforce bans on homeless encampments, with San Diego implementing such a ban late last month, and neighboring cities like Poway and Chula Vista considering following suit. The ban in San Diego has led to a strain on resources in South Bay and an influx of unhoused individuals fleeing to nearby areas, according to Hoodline San Diego.
However, some advocates for the unhoused argue that merely enforcing bans on encampments displaces the homeless population without offering a long-term solution. Sebastian Martinez, Executive Director for Community Through Hope, questioned in the same Hoodline article, "Where are these people going to go? They will spill into National City and Imperial Beach." Martinez emphasized the need for cities to work with service providers for implementing measures that would prevent homelessness, rather than merely relocating the problem.
San Diego County is investing in various programs to help homeless individuals find housing, of which about 390 people received financial support for rent in July, while 250 rented without a subsidy and more than 110 moved in with relatives, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune report. However, these numbers fall short of overcoming the increasing rates of homelessness.
