Category: Homelessness

By Natalie Raschke / Op-Ed SD Union-Tribune /Dec. 13, 2023

There’s no place like home for the holidays. This is especially true for families like mine, who’ve experienced homelessness. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, both my husband and I could no longer work as bartenders and, with many restaurants closing their doors, job opportunities in our industry were scarce. At first, we lived off our savings and unemployment, but after a while we were unable to afford the rent in our two-bedroom apartment in Ocean Beach where we lived with our four children. To cut costs, we moved into an RV for 24 months, then spent another six months living in a van.

By Joni Halpern

There have been many times in the past when community advocates for the best interests of the Point Loma community have needed the support of residents of other San Diego communities.

The retention of Dana Junior High School is only one example.  We needed support from other communities to prevent the school from being sold to developers who planned to replace it with almost 300 condominiums.  We succeeded in our efforts, because other communities joined us.

Even though the issue has dropped from the cameras of our local TV stations, H Barracks is still with us. Mayor Gloria has not changed his plans and those in the community of Point Loma have not changed their minds.

Here, is more on the issue, a letter to the mayor from the Peninsula Planning Board and Gloria’s position, as stated by his representative.

First, a report of the “famous” meeting of the PCPB on Nov. 16. from KPBS:

Point Loma community members sent a letter to the city of San Diego opposing a plan to turn the site known as H-Barracks into a homeless shelter. The site would temporarily house 300 to 700 people experiencing homelessness, according to the city.

In a letter addressed to Mayor Gloria and Councilmember Campbell on November 16, the Peninsula Community Planning Board came out and endorsed the controversial Sunbreak Ranch plan for the region’s homeless.

Here is the text of the letter:

The Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB) endorses Sunbreak Ranch’s innovative plan to address the homelessness crisis in our community. Sunbreak Ranch, a nonprofit organization, aligns with our community values and offers a comprehensive solution to make a lasting positive impact on the lives of unhoused individuals in the City of San Diego.

Here is local coverage by TV stations on Thursday night’s “Point Loma Revolt,” at the monthly meeting of the Peninsula Community Planning Board.

7SanDiego

As San Diego struggles with shelter bed availability for the homeless, people in the Point Loma community are speaking out against the city’s plan for a new shelter near Liberty Station that could accommodate hundreds. Dozens of residents showed up to the Peninsula Community Planning Board’s (PCPB) meeting Thursday night at the Point Loma Library to express their opposition to a proposal that would turn Barracks H, a 5-acre lot on the southeast side of Liberty Station next to the airport, into a mixed-used homeless shelter.

by Dave Schwab / sdnews.com / November 14, 2023

Concerns were vetted, and the mayor’s office fielded questions, about the City’s proposed conversion of the H Barracks site near Liberty Station for homelessness services at a Peninsula Community Planning Board committee meeting on Nov. 9. Kohta Zaiser, deputy director of community engagement for the mayor’s office, presented on the project and held a Q&A with the planning group’s Ad Hoc Committee.

More on the Discussion about city plans for “H Barracks”

By Anonymous Commenter

I begin with this historical note. When the Naval Training Center closed, there was a federal law (I think it was McKenny-Vento) that required cities who were taking over federal military base property to include facilities and housing for the homeless as a priority. So plans to provide transitional housing for individuals and families who were homeless were publicized.

First, Point Loma residents voiced their fury, using the same arguments that we now hear of theft, needles, drugs, madness placing their children at risk. However, at the heart of Point Loma’s concern was their own dislike and fear of the homeless and their fear of property values being adversely affected.

At the most recent monthly meeting of the OB Town Council, a member of Mayor Gloria’s office tried to allay people’s concerns and fears about a homeless facility being established at “H Barracks.” Kohta Zaiser addressed the issue at the October 26 meeting of the OBTC by saying the entire concept and idea is “in the very early stages.”

H Barracks is the site of a former public safety training facility near the airport, nestled behind hotels and across the boat channel from the Liberty Station cultural and commercial complex in Point Loma.

The city has floated the idea of a potential plan to house hundreds of homeless people at the site. The current structures have been abandoned and will be demolished, and there are plans to build a pumping station built in about five years as part of the city’s Pure Water program to clean recycled water into drinking water.

Here’s the text of a petition that opposes a homeless “camp” at Barracks H near Point Loma. (The petition is misleading in that it calls the proposed site “Liberty Station”.) It was started by Derek Falconer and as of this posting, has garnered 3862 signatures.

by Derek Falconer

Last year, at our local Little League field, my 7 year old son encountered a homeless man in the public bathroom without pants who had soiled himself, was mumbling incoherently, and had a needle in his arm.  My son was very shaken as a result of being exposed to such tragedy at such an innocent age.  

Some Point Loma residents are upset about the city considering a plan to create a mixed-used homeless shelter site on a 5-acre city-owned plot of land near the airport — called “Barracks H.” They took their case to the media last week and have set up an online petition for their cause.

Vacant buildings on the site have for years been utilized for firefighting practices – and some of the buildings have already been demolished. From NBC7:

According to the city’s Homeless Shelter and Solutions Strategy, the site could have traditional shelters, but also potentially include a safe sleeping parking lot with tents and a safe parking lot for people to sleep in their vehicles. … the proposed timeline has the site opening as early as summer of 2024.

By Geoff Page

This is an account of a disabled homeless woman who was tossed out, at night, from the city’s homeless encampment at the city’s Operations Maintenance Yard at 20th and B. She was left to fend for herself huddled against a fence with a few of her belongings in the dark and the drizzle of a Tuesday night.

This writer met Jane – not her real name – last Friday, October 6, during a visit to the camp. She had contacted The Rag around noon desperate for some immediate help because she was about to be kicked out of the camp that day. Jane is disabled because of issues with a leg making walking difficult.

By Geoff Page

The Rag had occasion to revisit the city’s homeless parking lot camp site at the City’s Maintenance Operations Yard Friday morning, October 6. During that visit, a couple of surprising bits of news were discovered. It was learned that the city is building a new, bigger campsite and that the city has obtained an extension on the existing parking lot site permit.

Checking the news media following the visit did not reveal any information about the new campsite or the extension for the current site. On Saturday, October 7, however, there was a brief mention in the Union Tribune about the mayor’s press conference on Thursday, October 7. During that conference, the account related the following about the new site.