CHULA VISTA, Calif. — The homeless crisis is a major concern for people in Chula Vista who showed up to a town hall meeting on Saturday. They expressed their frustrations with police. Meanwhile, officers shared what they are doing to help people living on the street.
"If they are going to help the unsheltered, help the unsheltered … stop the red tape,” Chula Vista resident John Acosta said.
Residents who live in this community, like John Acosta, have seen the situation first hand. He showed up to find answers and hopes more is done to solve this issue soon.
“So like a band aid to a conversation, band aid to the problems they don't give you solutions,” Acosta said.
Chula Vista Mayor John McCann hosted the town hall where he spoke about his proposed encampment ban for the city. It's an issue he hopes will be presented in a future council meeting for a vote.
“I think that will be very helpful for us to be able to get rid of a lot of the homeless encampments that is creating a lot of issues and a lot of trash for us,” McCann said.
In the meantime, the Chula Vista Police Department officials say it has a multi-person team made up of officers, social workers and other professionals to help people on the streets.
One of the resources offered is reunification. Police mentioned during the presentation that about three percent of the people this team encountered were reunited with their family members. They were able to get people set up with the transportation they needed to get with their family even if it was thousands of miles away.
“Some of these homes have been in Minnesota, Mississippi so it's been a successful program,” Chula Vista Police Department Captain Dan Peak said.
Another resource the police department spoke about was the Chula Vista Village at Otay Bridge Shelter. It's a center that offers people basic necessities like showers, food and other resources.
WATCH RELATED: Homeless advocates speak out against proposed Chula Vista encampment ban