Column: More resources — and bureaucracy — aimed at San Diego’s growing homeless problem
04/23/21
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