Advocates say encampment bans are not the answer
Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Wednesday, July 31st.
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Advocates say banning homeless encampments isn’t the answer. . More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….######
After making history as the first American rugby team to advance to the semifinals on Monday, the U.S. Women’s Rugby Team did it again yesterday by winning the bronze medal.
It’s the first time the U-S has medaled in rugby sevens.
28-year old San Diegan Sarah Levy, and 26 year-old Fallbrook native Kayla Canett are on the team.
The U-S beat Australia 14 to 12 to win bronze, Canada won silver and New Zealand took home the gold.
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San Diego Wave President Jill Ellis is suing former team employee Brittany Alvarado for defamation following allegations of a poor work environment.
Alvarado was a video and creative manager for the soccer club before resigning on June 7.
On social media earlier this month she accused Ellis of a “narcissistic personal agenda,” and “fostering an environment where abusive behaviors among her subordinates” were allowed to flourish.
The following day Ellis called the statements false and personally damaging.
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A groundbreaking ceremony for a new community center in San Ysidro is being held this morning.
The La Semilla Community Resiliency Center is being developed by Casa Familiar.
The nonprofit says the center will serve residents during climate disasters and other emergencies.
It will also offer services and programming to provide residents with the tools to combat air pollution, extreme heat, drought, and other climate risks.
The center is being built on a vacant 7 thousand square foot lot.
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From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom is calling on cities in the state to ban homeless encampments in public spaces.
Several local cities already have bans in place, including Escondido and San Marcos.
North County reporter Tania Thorne says some feel the move is being made too soon.
Backpacks, blankets, and sleeping bags… spill out of a shopping cart next to Bobbie Coffelt.
She has been homeless in Escondido for 6 years.
Next to her is her 20-year-old son Jacob. He is autistic and doesn’t say much.
That made it even more of a struggle as I was, you know, being out here, my son, my mom, you know, and just trying to, you know, keep together as a unit, you know, But it gets difficult.
Coffelt says camping in plain sight is for their safety—she feels rapes, attacks and theft happen more to people who are hidden.
But as encampment bans come down, she fears that safety is fading.
The cops, when they come in, they tell you you gotta move. They tell everybody to move, everybody into going out to the jungle. I'm not going out there jungle because things happen out there and I can't. And they you know, because they push you further and further away from where you can get the resources.
Her mom has dementia and is in a nursing home. Her son could get shelter in a group home, but doesn’t want to be without his mom.
He doesn't want to be taken, singled out and be put in a group home. I mean, you don't. Is that really how you handle something? I mean, you break up the family like that. It just doesn't seem right.
And Coffelt doesn’t want to go to a shelter because she’d have to give up her cats.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in City of Grants Pass vs Johnson allows cities to ban homeless encampments in public areas. Even if the cities don’t have enough shelter beds.
Now Governor Gavin Newsom is pressuring California cities to take action on dismantling the camps, or lose out on funding.
Ultimately it makes people less trustworthy. So you'll hear a lot people say they don't want help and you have to realize there's something you need to add to that sentence for it to make sense.
Holly Herring is a homeless advocate in North County.
She used to be homeless and understands what people want and don’t want..
They don't want the help you're offering. They don't want the help from you. And there can be a point in time after a number of engagements where somebody can come to trust that you actually have a solution for them, that they'll say, all right, I'm interested in that solution.
She thinks enforcement will burn any trust or relationship built with outreach workers.
People are going to be more guarded about what they say, where do they sleep at night, what kind of environment their interactions with law enforcement are going to make it more difficult when they do come for the solution to actually help house people.
The cities of Escondido and San Marcos recently enforced encampment bans.
They both referenced public safety in their decisions.
There is no homeless shelter in San Marcos, instead the city pays over 100,000 dollars for regional support every year.
I am aware of these organizations that are helping in the community. What I continue to encounter is the fact that we are told that either there's no capacity or that a family doesn't meet the particular qualifications…
San Marcos council member Maria Nunez, was the lone vote against the ordinance.
She thinks that the ban leaves homeless people with little to no options.
What happens to that family, what happens to those individuals? And now that we are going to be enforcing and potentially citing individuals, potentially ending up with misdemeanor citations. Then I can't help to wonder, then. What are we going to do them with these individuals? then are they going to be detained? Are they gonna be incarcerated? Where do they go?
Interfaith Community Services is the largest homeless service provider in Escondido.
CEO Greg Anglea says the recent orders mean people need places to go even more.
Short term housing options. But ultimately, what people need is a permanent home of their own. So it, it really calls for the need for rental assistance to help people overcome the high cost of getting into a new home.
Back in Escondido, next to her overflowing shopping cart, Bobbie Coffelt has one message.
If they if you really want to help come out and meet the people, figure out what can be done instead of enforcing the these laws that just push everybody away and out. So word like hidden, you know, in the shadows because we're never going to be hidden in the shadows. All we want to be is housed. You know?
Tania Thorne, KPBS News
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For the first time, August will be transgender history month in San Diego.
Reporter Katie Hyson says the city’s declaration follows similar ones in San Francisco and the State Assembly.
Councilmember Jennifer Campbell says city leaders stand against the rise in anti-trans hate.
I want our trans community to know that I see you, I respect you, and I love you, as does this entire council. More importantly, our city honors and celebrates all of the wonderful contributions you have made to San Diego. Happy Transgender History Month.
The announcement comes days after former president Donald Trump promised to defund schools that quote “push transgender insanity.”
The chosen month is a nod to August of 1966.
When trans women and drag queens protested police harassment at a San Francisco cafeteria.
It was one of the first LGBTQ-plus-related uprisings in U.S. history. Three years before Stonewall.
Katie Hyson, KPBS News
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School starts in just two weeks for San Diego Unified.
The district says hundreds of transitional kindergarten spots are still open. Reporter Katie Anastas says most are in south San Diego.
The district says the Lincoln, Crawford, Hoover, Logan Memorial and Morse school clusters have most of the 550 open spaces.
Marceline Sciuto oversees enrollment options for the district. She says TK helps kids academically and socially.
It’s part of a two year kindergarten program, so it gets the students more prepared for an academic program. It’s still rich with play and exploration and socializing, but they're learning school behaviors, learning important skills like how to share, how to collaborate, how to sit in one spot and listen to the teacher.
It can also be a financial help for families. It’s free, TK students are there for a full day, and they get breakfast and lunch at school.
Parents can visit their resident school to enroll. They’ll need to bring the child’s birth certificate, immunization records and proof of residence. Katie Anastas, KPBS News.
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One thing T-K may be able to help out with, is parental burnout… which is an issue, according to U-C-S-D research.
Researchers surveyed parents who are juggling work, school, childcare, and trying to make ends meet.
Reporter Tania Thorne says data could help find a solution.
Brenda is a mom living with her three children in a cramped apartment. The kids end up playing near the busy street since there is no yard to play in. Brenda has been on the waitlist for Section 8 housing for a long time.
Brenda is a fictional character, but her story resonates with many San Diego families.
A family resilience study used these stories to study childcare. Rebecca Fielding Miller is with the School of Public Health for UCSD.
Well, now, what would the story look like if their child care center was a source of support for that? So tell us. imagine a world where childcare, where people are getting everything they need, and childcare is really the center of that.
Along with the San Diego YMCA and San Diego for every child, Fielding Miller presented the findings to policy makers. They asked what it would take to make something happen.
Childcare reform hasn’t happened yet. But Fielding Miller thinks her findings could play an important role in deciding policies one day.
Tania Thorne, KPBS News
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That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Join us again tomorrow for the day’s top stories. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great day.
