Chula Vista’s mayor asks residents for help solving ‘epidemic’ of homelessness

Chula Vista Mayor John McCann talks to residents at the Norman Park Senior Center on Oct about homelessness in the city and what the next moves should be to address on the issue Photo by Hannah Psalma Ramirez The city of Chula Vista is taking action against what Mayor John McCann has called the region s most of urgent challenge homelessness by establishing its first ever strategic plan to address it Homeless prevention services encampment enforcement and more shelters were a few of the suggestions residents shared rapid fire as they were inscribed in red marker on a poster board That discussion took place at the first of four group workshops to gather resident input on exactly what policies and strategies the five-year roadmap should include Two more are planned including one Wednesday night After things have become epidemic and we want to make sure that we re getting homeless individuals off the street McCann commented as part of his opening remarks for the first workshop at the Norman Park Senior Center This year s Point-in-Time PIT Count mandated by the U S Department of Housing and Urban Advancement to determine an estimate of those unhoused in San Diego County and regions across the country identified that Chula Vista had the highest homeless population in South County The city also had the second largest homeless population in the county overall At the same time the city experienced a drop from the prior year But Chula Vista s numbers jumped substantially in when the city saw an increase of in the homeless population According to a city spokesperson this year s decrease can be attributed to a combination of factors including the more clean-up operations conducted on population lands by Caltrans along the Interstate and state Track corridors Other factors include clean-ups on behalf of private property owners in coordination with the city s Homeless Outreach Organization HOT and successes moving unsheltered people into transitional and permanent housing Earlier this month the city received million in Homekey funding from the California Department of Housing and Population Improvement to fund the construction of more permanent housing The city plans to use the funds to convert the former Palomar Motel in western Chula Vista into units of permanent supportive housing for low-income residents experiencing or at threat of homelessness The motel is expected to be ready by November but outside of that the city only has one other shelter the Chula Vista Village at Otay The transitional shelter offers tiny homes for a temporary stay of to days according to the city s website The city spokesperson also ratified that they are continuing to look for other funding opportunities and partnerships to expand available services and housing options At this moment the city partners with nonprofits such as the Salvation Army Population Center South Bay Locality Services and Veteran District Services to identify additional shelter as needed Residents at the workshop suggested utilizing safe parking programs as a response to shelter demand We ought to have safe parking There s just no doubt about it There should be safe parking in a city this size It would eliminate a lot of problems mentioned Penni Wilson Neely a Bonita resident Safe parking programs are an option that allow people living out of their vehicles to safely stay overnight at specific lots Now there are no safe parking programs offered in South Bay One heated point of discussion was delayed progress in cleaning up homeless encampments It s been a year since the city of Chula Vista established its own encampment ban following a U S Supreme Court decision to remove impediments to local anti-encampment restrictions Previously if a city did not have a shelter big enough for its whole unhoused population you could not ban encampments on citizens property With the new high court ruling this can be done even if there is no room in local shelters According to Sgt Bryan Jackson of the Chula Vista Police Department since the rule change officers have had to enforce the ban several times Typically they provide -hour notice for encampments that need to be cleared So we do have that as an extra tool in our tool bag if we ever need to use it announced Officer Taylor Cate But first like they were talking about we are usually outreach first We want to help everyone that we come in contact with Carlos Rodrigues a -year-old resident shared the need for more enforcement of an encampment on C Street in the northern part of the city where Eucalyptus Park is expected to be revamped with a multi-million dollar upgrade There s inevitably trash There s unfailingly encampments there There s families that walk around there s kids that walk around down C Street and nothing is being done about it Rodrigues stated I ve been assaulted by homeless people literally a guy with a knife assaulted me Rodrigues continued Now I carry pepper spray constantly thinking about getting a taser as well but I carry it on me every time I go out into the public The city has previously struggled with clearing areas overrun by homeless encampments For instance in bureaucrats closed Harborside Park for two years as a impact of criminal activity and to evict the unhoused individuals who lived there After the economic hardships of the pandemic the once lively park adorned with a skate park and basketball courts became riddled with a sea of shopping carts and tents selected overflowing with debris Rodrigues also mentioned repeated issues with an encampment near the Walmart shopping center between Broadway and Fifth Avenue A row of tents mattresses and even a piano have been part of the pile of debris discovered there Rodrigues published the matter to CBS which discovered that the land is privately owned a complicating factor when coordinating clean up It s an open episode reported a city official at the meeting That affair just to put it in perspective has been open since before I even worked on it As part of the city procedure they notify property owners and give them an opportunity to handle the issue first allowing to days before taking further action In addition with the meeting taking place at a senior center the largely older crowd advocated for more assistance for seniors in danger of losing their homes According to city statistics of local unhoused individuals last year were seniors Once somebody becomes homeless it s too hard to get them back noted John Acosta a resident The rental assistance venture that is provided by the city it is very tough for any senior to qualify for that Make it easier for a senior to get assistance The Shallow Rental Subsidy Project launched this summer helps seniors who are and older with a rental subsidy of a month To qualify participants must have an income at or below of the area median income and they can t receive rental assistance from other programs Applications for the campaign opened in September It already has reached full quota Focus on that because we are all getting old declared Acosta to city staff at the public workshop For those looking to share their own suggestions for solutions to homelessness in Chula Vista residents can attend the upcoming workshops all taking place from to p m Loma Verde Rec Center Loma Lane Wednesday Montevalle Park Rec Center Duncan Ranch Road Thursday