Column: More resources — and bureaucracy — aimed at San Diego’s growing homeless problem

Mayor Todd Gloria and county Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher unveiled separate proposals not long before a new report detailed a troubling trend.
Last year, the number of people who became homeless for the first time nearly doubled from 2019, according to the report by the San Diego Regional Task Force on the Homeless released this week.
Meanwhile, the county has continued to bolster its mental health programs and outreach teams. Fletcher’s proposal for a new department is a signal the county is committing to a larger role in combating homelessness than it has in the past.
How the county department works out remains to be seen, of course. But this particular expansion of government was backed by all five supervisors, including Republicans Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond.
Where Gloria and Fletcher say they are headed gave McConnell a glimmer of hope.“I haven’t seen leadership on this before like I’m potentially starting to see blossom,” he said.  READ MORE