As more and more cities within San Diego County pass “No Camping” bans, the numbers of our fellow citizens who live along the San Diego River have increased until now it’s over 400.
According to figures just released by the San Diego River Park Foundation, there’s an estimated 423 people living along the San Diego Riverbed, marking an increase over the last count in the spring. That figure comes from the Foundation’s homelessness census, conducted by volunteers over four days in late September.
The data shows an estimated 338 people are in the city of San Diego, another 78 are in Santee and seven are in unincorporated parts of the county.
Yet the numbers of homeless people in downtown San Diego have decreased — and candidate Mayor Todd Gloria is quick to tout this whenever and wherever he can. Yet, it’s fairly obvious that the citizens kicked out of downtown didn’t leave California but are now huddling along the main river in San Diego County.
At a news conference held Thursday, San Diego River Park Foundation CEO Rob Hutsel said:
“These are people. These are members of our community. We need to help them and provide what they need, where they are to help them out of the riverbed and toward a life that’s better.”
Kendall Burdett, outreach case manager with People Assisting the Homeless, also known as PATH, said:
“Many unsheltered people seek refuge in the San Diego River because it provides them isolation, but it also provides them with a sense of autonomy and protection that they’re not going to find elsewhere.”
“Living unsheltered is obviously not easy, and it’s never considered safe. This is why we feel it’s so important that we meet unhoused San Diegans where they’re at and to continue to build or rebuild trusting relationships.”
He added that what drives people to the riverbed is what led them to become homeless in the first place: income instability and rising rent costs, as well as mental and physical health conditions.
Today’s Union-Tribune explained:
“The rising number of encampments comes as several cities have passed camping bans that increased penalties for sleeping outside. Sarah Hutmacher, the foundation’s chief operating officer, said she knew of individuals who’d chosen to live by waterways in an effort to avoid police on the street.
Rivers can simultaneously offer isolation from the outside world and a more stable community. Hand-built structures sometimes include brick floors, wooden walls and bookshelves, and outreach workers can face more hurdles in convincing those residents to move.
Similar work began more recently in San Diego. That city’s waterway population surged earlier this year to nearly 340, and one plot of land near Sea World, below Interstate 5, appears to have dozens of people living in a makeshift village. Burdett, the outreach worker, said at least 10 of those residents had already been connected with rent subsidy programs and should soon be able to get
On the good side of the news, County officials reported that 180 people have been moved from the San Diego Riverbed and the Sweetwater Riverbed since January: 157 in emergency housing, 22 into permanent housing and one reunified with family.moved into housing to increased efforts to clear the riverbeds, funded by a $17 million Encampment Resolution Funding grant from the state, awarded to the city, the county and other agencies in June 2023.
