Understanding homelessness in San Diego

Students consider how homelessness impacts them on and off campus

SALENA CHACON / ASST. NEWS EDITOR / THE USD VISTA

Homelessness has been a prominent issue in San Diego lately, made worse by the high cost of living. Although USD has resources for students who may be experiencing housing insecurity or who want to take action to combat homelessness, many students are unaware or do not feel inclined to take advantage of these resources.

Regardless of USD student involvement in issues surrounding homelessness, it continues to be prevalent in the city the University calls home; a count conducted by the San Diego Regional Task Force on Homelessness reported a total of 4,801 unhoused individuals in the City of San Diego in Feb. 2022. 

Recently, homelessness was officially deemed a public health crisis in San Diego. Viewing homelessness as a health crisis will help focus regional efforts and push the government to find more sustainable solutions, according to a quote from Vice Chair of the San Diego Board of Directors Nora Vargas in the San Diego Union-Tribune. Following the declaration, the San Diego Board of Supervisors passed a pilot program aimed to prevent homelessness in 220 senior households by providing resources to senior individuals at risk of becoming homeless. 

Dr. Odilka Santiago, a USD Sociology professor, recognized the importance of the declaration and the efforts to help housing-insecure seniors. 

“It completely makes sense that homelessness is a health crisis, because it is dangerous,” Santiago said. “I think [the pilot program] is not enough, but it’s beginning to address some of the health crises that we have.”

USD junior Natalie Wright is a Sociology major interested in healthcare policy, and was relieved to hear that homelessness was being addressed in San Diego.

“I think it’s important to be talked about in the media that it is a public health crisis so people start to realize it’s a severe problem,” Wright said. “[Homelessness] has had to take such extreme measures and physically be able to see the changes for people to understand that it’s an issue.”

USD sophomore Jude Van Matre mentioned not knowing much information on the recent declaration, and that living on campus isolated him from encountering housing insecurity. 

“Homelessness isn’t something that really affects me. Walking around on campus, you just don’t see it,” Van Matre expressed. “For someone [on campus], it’s almost like you’re kind of living in a bubble.”

USD sophomore Marissa Shaade lives in San Buenaventura and explained that part of the reason why the USD campus feels so secluded is because of its location on top of a hill. 

“I think we’re really isolated from what’s actually happening. Not even just homelessness,” Schaade said. “I feel like it’s just away from everything else.”

Wright lives off campus in Pacific Ridge, and even though her apartment is not far from campus, she spends a lot of time in the city.

“[Homelessness] is something that I experience everytime I go out to the grocery store and just getting around town in general. If you’re anywhere outside of the beautiful campus we have here, you’re going to experience it in San Diego,” Wright expressed.

Even though many students are shielded from homelessness, it is still prevalent outside of USD’s perimeter. A recent report from the Regional Task Force on Homelessness found that the number of people becoming homeless exceeds the number of people experiencing homelessness who found housing in the past year, which means that homelessness has increased. 

For students wanting to get involved in community action against homelessness, the UCD website lists organizations on campus students can join, such as the on-campus club “Pancakes Serving Up Hope” and the off-campus organization “Father Joe’s Villages.” These resources and more can be found at https://www.sandiego.edu/homelessness/resources.php 

Measures to alleviate homelessness, such as declaring it a public health crisis, have been abundant in San Diego and California overall. However, on Nov. 3 Gov. Newsom halted $1 billion in funding for many cities and groups dedicated to helping the homeless population on the ground that their plans for the money were not sufficient enough as they would not decrease homelessness by a large enough margin, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.

Wright noticed that the media perpetuates a sense of urgency to issues like homelessness, and while immediately granting financial aid is helpful, it is still important to support a long term plan.

“This has been a pressing issue for a very long time. It’s not something that happened overnight,” Wright said.

Just as this issue did not develop immediately, Wright believes it cannot be solved by only implementing short term plans.

One of the main barriers for unhoused individuals is the availability of housing in San Diego because of how much it costs to live in the city.

The San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) found that “less than one percent of residential housing units were vacant for at least six consecutive months at some point during a five-year period before the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Dr. Santiago emphasized that not only is housing hard to find, but also difficult to afford. 

“We need more real, low-income units to match the population in need. Otherwise we are really mis-utilizing resources that could provide housing for the long term,” Dr. Santiago said.

Dr. Santiago explained that the task of providing housing is more complicated than the problem of housing accessibility. 

“When we approach homelessness as a health crisis, then we need to find not only stable housing, but quality housing. Clean, safe housing,”  Dr. Santiago said.

The Urgent Challenges Collectives (UCC) is a campaign at USD dedicated to addressing housing security both on and off campus through areas like research and community engagement. The UCC created a basic needs acknowledgment which establishes that students struggling with housing insecurity face increased challenges in their education, and should reach out to receive resources. Housing-insecure students are urged to contact the Student Affairs Office in their office in UC 232 or through email studentaffairs. 

Further resources can be found on the UCC website https://www.sandiego.edu/homelessness/resources.php and include the USD Food Pantry and Torero Closet. 

To be eligible for these resources, students must fill out an enrollment form (https://usd.tfaforms.net/218621). Once granted access, these resources are free.

According   to   the   Food     Pantry website, https://www.sandiego.edu/food-pantry/ , “The USD Food Pantry and Torero Closet in Hahn University Center (UC) 116 includes: food, school supplies, hygiene supplies, laundry detergent, etc. Additionally, we have a refrigerator and freezer to offer students fresh produce, dairy, and additional protein options. The new space also allows for a Torero Closet, where donated professional clothing can be found.”