NATIONAL CITY, Calif. — Last week, CBS 8 showed you the homeless encampments along Plaza Bonita Road near the Westfield Mall as county crews attempted to clean up the area, and now, the encampments are back.
Tents, tarps, and makeshift shelters can be seen behind the bike path next to the I-805 freeway.
“A lot of people choose to live that way and a lot of it is choice, probably the majority of it is choice than it is out of necessity,” said Ron Morrison. “The ones who are there out of necessity, there’s a lot of services out there for them and we’re constantly trying to provide those services to them.”
Sheriff’s deputies were on site a week ago on March 11 with cleanup crews from “Clean Harbors,” an environmental services and waste disposal company. In all, seven cubic yards of waste and debris were removed. According to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, outreach workers have made contact with 75 unhoused people at the location since March, and so far, six people have been provided shelter or housing from resource providers.
“A lot of individuals on the street, it’s either alcohol, it’s drugs, it’s mental disabilities and therefore, they don’t want to go into a shelter type situation, and they decide to live on the street instead,” said Mayor Morrison.
The area surrounding the Plaza Bonita Mall has split jurisdictions between the County of San Diego, City of Chula Vista, and National City.
In National City, a new facility for those experiencing homelessness has already been approved by the City Council for a conditional use permit. The San Diego Rescue Mission now owns the 8-acre property where the South Bay Community Church used to be.
“We at the San Diego Rescue Mission believe that rehabilitation is the key, that is ultimately the solution,” said San Diego Rescue Mission’s President and CEO, Donnie Dee. “There’s a difference between meeting the needs of the homeless and addressing the needs of the homeless.”
The 30,000-square-foot building near Euclid Avenue and 24th Street is currently being renovated and is expected to open in January with 162 beds for emergency shelter use. The facility would be what they call a “navigation center,” with an average length of stay being less than 30 days, and case workers would be assigned to each person.
“We’ll be able to get people off the streets immediately and that’s where you will go first, ultimately, before you come to the rehabilitation program at our downtown location,” said Dee. “Let’s eliminate their immediate crisis, which is housing and food and water, let’s eliminate that and get them to trust us, that we can really help them.”
The San Diego Rescue Mission has a 100,000-square-foot facility with 360 beds in downtown San Diego primarily used for their 12-month rehabilitation residential program.
Meanwhile, Mayor Morrison is concerned about San Diego’s newly proposed ban on encampments on public land, thinking it will push the issue elsewhere to surrounding cities.
“Is that going to actually do anything for the homeless or is that just going to push them out to other communities?” asked Morrison. “And so then what do you do? Everyone comes up with the same legislation and we just play this pushing away game, and so it doesn’t really solve anything.”