Homeless advocacy, something to talk about

The Fallbrook Homeless Advocacy group, led by Brad Fox and eight local churches, hosts outreach events once a month.

Blaine Vice, a local business owner and member of Fallbrook Homeless Advocacy, said that one of Fallbrook's homeless men, "Kevin," is off the streets. He's clean and sober, getting the medical treatment he needs to work again and living with friends in Carlsbad. And he has a room with his name on it at a transitional home come Sept. 1.

Vice attended Fallbrook High School with "Kevin" 38 years ago, and they were good friends but lost touch after they graduated and their lives took different paths, he said. Fast forward to 2018. Vice bought sandwiches for a couple of homeless men sitting on the Promenade. He shook their hands and introduced himself.

Vice said he was shocked to realize one of them was Kevin. He, like many people experiencing homelessness, has a story peppered with bad luck and bad choices, but after reconnecting with Vice, Kevin began regularly attending Fallbrook Homeless Advocacy's outreach events. He would talk, listen, make small steps to recovery and suffer small set-backs.

His isn't an atypical story, Vice said, and while everyone in the "Friendly Village" agrees that something needs to be done for the homeless population, there is certainly an air of "agreeing to disagree" amongst community members and business owners over how to help.

Over one year strong now, Fallbrook Homeless Advocacy continues to round up and provide food, personal hygiene supplies, a shampoo and hair cutting station, a prayer tent, medical diagnostic services and mounds of clothes – even a few designer duds with new tags still attached have been donated, he said.

While San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond continues "working to try to get (homeless) services out there," Fallbrook Homeless Advocacy and its community partners said they will continue to develop ways to support the homeless based on what they hear directly by those on the receiving end.

They offer personal relationship building and support services – the kind that ultimately helped Kevin get off the street. And although details, policies, locations and logistics are being ironed out, the group is talking of building a transitional home and a centrally located porta-potty, both of which could curb problems associated with loitering street dwellers, Vice said.

Additionally, one of Fallbrook Homeless Advocacy's other key member Jordan Verdin said progress was made on the procurement of a mobile shower trailer that he financed through crowdfunding – which came to a halt $4,000 short of the needed $22,000. Verdine donated to remaining funds himself, Vice said. The build and delivery are scheduled to be finished mid-July.