Ending homelessness

Supervisor Jim Desmond

5th District

Homelessness continues to be a major issue facing San Diego County, with approximately 8,427 individuals experiencing homelessness across the county.

Pollsters at UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies asked nearly 8,500 California voters, including 872 San Diegans, to choose two leading concerns they would like state leaders to address. The top two statewide concerns were:

1. Housing affordability

2. Homelessness

Whenever I meet with groups or people in our community, the most frequently asked question I receive is, “What is being done about homelessness?” With nearly 50% of the homeless population living in California, clearly there's a problem.

My office is always looking at ways to get people off the street, into housing and treatments, if necessary. Last week, I brought forth action that will address these issues with a simple, yet impactful approach. It’s called the “By-Name List.”

The By-Name-List will include the name, homeless history, health, and housing needs of every person experiencing homelessness, by consent and updated in real-time. The list will transform the strategy to end homelessness from an anonymous issue into one focused on each individual’s needs. It will also allow for providers to be much more effective at treating and knowing each person.

For example, if a homeless individual is in Chula Vista and receives treatment and a few weeks later then ends up in Oceanside, homeless service providers will now have that person’s medical history that will get them what they need and address any problems going forward. It will save taxpayers money and will help get people off the street.

Another benefit to the list is, it will allow us to find out if the homeless programs in San Diego County are effective, or if we need to look at something different.