By Jillian Butler
Within the Peninsula Community and San Diego as a whole, homelessness continues to be a pervasive topic brought up in social media discourse, political campaigns, and community meetings.
It is equally divisive as it is pervasive. Some argue for strict crackdowns while others worry about over-policing. Regardless of individual feelings, the homelessness crisis of San Diego is a problem that requires concrete solutions. Ocean Beach has always prided itself on compassion. But compassion alone hasn’t resolved the growing tension around homelessness in 92107.
The San Diego Regional Homeless Task Force estimated that there were no less than 9,905 homeless residing within San Diego County in 2025. At least 221 of those individuals are in the 92107 area code. The average age of those experiencing homelessness is 43 years old. The gender demographics are closely split with 51% being female and 49% being male. Racially, Black people of color make up 48% of the homeless population. Both senior (age 55+) and youth (age 12-24) homeless rates are consistently increasing.
A few months before the tragic death of OBcean Tracy Condon in November 2025, a regional task force specific to Ocean Beach was enacted. OBcean and grassroots activist Phil Cenedella has stepped up as leader of the OB Task Force on Homelessness.
Known for assisting the homeless, Ms. Condon eventually became homeless herself. While sitting on a curb next to her wheelchair between Santa Monica Avenue and Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, she was struck by a man driving a pickup truck. Identified as Evan M. Anderson, the suspect was apprehended but remains out on bail.
On the mission of the Task Force, Mr. Cenedella says:
“Our goal is to focus on the solutions to the many issues surrounding unsheltered people that our community so desperately needs in 2026, …with a sense of urgency, purpose and humanity.”
Their immediate goal is to reduce homelessness by 10% in the 92107 community. The task force’s own last head count indicated that there were 75-110 unhoused individuals in the area, a significant jump down from San Diego Task Force’s 2025 count of 221. Though incarceration, hospitalization, or even riding on public transit to a different area can skew this data, it could appear that the Ocean Beach Task Force has been successful.
Cenedella has indicated that the homeless in Ocean Beach fall into several different categories. The vast majority are down on their luck by no fault of their own and need immediate short-term help to get up off their feet. Others are mentally ill and in need of hospitalization and treatment. Some are criminals that need to be incarcerated. While these categories simplify a complex reality, they reflect the different policy responses required.
The Task Force’s 2026 goals include administering a comprehensive plan or solution to offer homeless in the community. Additionally, Cenedella hopes to enact a funding mechanism in place to support this plan, making it possible for the Task Force to disband by September 2027. He has identified several different avenues towards a solution. First, there needs to be greater involvement with P.A.T.H and Behavioral Health Services in Ocean Beach. Additionally, there needs to be a shelter option and a full-time, adequately staffed center.
Ocean Beach is not immune to the forces driving homelessness across California: soaring housing costs, untreated mental illness, addiction, economic instability, and a frayed social safety net. But OB is also not powerless.
The creation of the Ocean Beach Task Force represents a recognition that outrage alone will not solve this crisis. Enforcement without services fails. Services without accountability fail. Compassion without structure fails.
If Ocean Beach wants to remain both safe and humane, the community must support solutions that are practical, data-driven, and sustainable, even when they are uncomfortable. The alternative is continued polarization while the problem persists on our sidewalks.
High-density apartments lead to exponentially increasing homelessness when in cases like, most if not all of California and especially here in San Diego, have flooded the “housing” market with the over-development of publicly traded corporate controlled luxury “rental” housing. Corporate landlords are only beholden to shareholder profits, at any cost.
Ignominiously legislated housing policies the result of one-party-rule that advocate for irresponsible over-development of high density housing is directly responsible for astronomically rising rents that low-income households cannot afford. As housing costs escalate, more individuals and families may find themselves unable to secure stable housing, resulting in higher rates of homelessness. (Pew Research)
These publicly traded corporate landlords pay little, and in some cases no effective tax rate in California and federally, because they are so heavily subsidized through abhorrently anti-community/pro-corporate real estate legislation; written while we were distracted, forced to concern ourselves with a tyrant and the elimination of our Constitutionally protected rights.
Ironically, since the 2008 the Troubled Asset Relief Program, (TARP) enabled the lion’s share of the newly created Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to acquire the vast majority of the houses listed on the market and a grip of single family homes that were “privately” listed. Legislatively unimpeded.
No other industry can, or has, manipulated any market in this politico-corporate monopolistic manner. Wall Street has only been able to do it by co-opting party serving sycophants, and self serving local politicians so easily corruptible they gladly pen the most egregious corporate housing legislation in history. Our politicos are so entirely sycophantic they were willing to spend years misinforming the Public that the catastrophic wasteland left in the wake of this politico-corporate monopolistic legislation has been the result of a wholly fabricated “lack of housing.”
I wouldn’t argue with any of that.
In addition to the REIT mess. there’s the Airbandb/ short term rental industry lining the pockets of our politicians. If this industry’s ” product” paid taxes like hotels, perhaps it wouldn’t be taking so many long term rentals off the market.
Thank you for a well written article Jillian. It truly is a community issue that needs solutions and we invite everyone to be proactively involved… http://www.OBtaskforce.com
All OB residents, and others, are invited to attend the next OB Community Foundation OPEN FORUM on April 9th at the OB Elementary School on Sunset Cliffs and Santa Monica, starting at 7 pm. This is near the location of Tracy’s death, which was the impetus for forming the Task Force. We will have 2 speakers on this topic (Behavioral Health Services, and PATH) and most importantly time for the community to give their input.
Finally, one clarification on the article: The Regional Task Force on Homelessness’ Point in Time Survey showed 221 unsheltered in the entire 92107 zip code in 2025,…while the OB Task Force on Homelessness’ Observational Survey only counts within a 4 block, by 10 block area centered on Newport Ave. Thus the difference between the 221 number, and the 75-110 number. Last month, we had over 30 volunteers here in OB doing the Point In Time Count for 2026 and the results will be available within 90 days.
Thank you again for the article and we welcome people’s questions, ideas, and offers to help.
peace,
Phil
http://www.obtaskforce.com
If we are going to solve the crisis of homelessness, we need to build public housing. You can build all the “affordable” housing you want to, but never get one homeless person off the streets. The homeless can’t afford anything. That’s why they are on the streets. We used to build public housing to keep people from being on the streets, but Ronnie Regan killed that. He defunded the housing and denigrated the poor. “Welfare queens” and all that. At the same time he closed mental institutions, dumping the patients out on the street. This continued into the Slick Willie administration when Willie signed the so called Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act, which contains the Faircloth amendment, which pretty much makes federal money impossible to get for any kind of public housing. So money for housing for the poor would have to come from state and local governments. Since those are both essentially bankrupt, the poor would seem to be out of luck. But the City of San Diego has land available. They call it surplus, but anyone with a shred of sense, knows it is all very valuable. Not just in terms of money, but because it could be put to good use. I believe that housing the poor is the highest and best use possible. That’s just my opinion, I sure some would disagree. And while America’s Finest City may be bankrupt for the foreseeable future, imagine how much housing we could build with the money the Department of Homeland Security has spent on this campaign of terror. Yes, policy matters more than party affiliation.
Feb 2026 OB Task Force observational survey NEWPORT 15 – 41
https://obsocialclub.com/tfh-blog/f/feb-2026-ob-task-force-observational-study-newport-15—41