SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – More people are ending up on the street for the first time in the San Diego region than those who are able to get housing, according to the latest report from the Regional Task Force on Homelessness.
For the 24th month in a row, a report showed more people experienced homelessness for the first time, according to Tamera Kohler, the CEO of the Regional Task Force on Homelessness.
She said this shows the impact of high housing costs and low housing stock on San Diego's region, Tamera said.
"...We must work together to reverse this troubling trend across our region by building abundant housing for people of all income levels, keeping people in their homes, and quickly ending homelessness if people experience it," Tamera said.
Those who were once homeless and worked to help others off of the street agree with that collaboration.
“The same issue that is affecting the people who are homeless and out on the street and need housing is also affecting, you know, the people who don’t want to don’t want to see it on the street anymore,” Levi Giafaglione with Lived Experience Advisers said. “But they also have a kid who is turning 19 and can’t afford to move out of the house. That’s why I would like to also look at this as a community and try to find those solutions.”
Those who are currently experiencing homelessness told ABC 10News they aren’t surprised by what the report is showing.
“I don’t know how to fix it either. I do know that it’s not surprising to me that it’s happening,” Nikki Brackeen, who is experiencing homelessness, said.
Brackeen lived in encampments on the San Diego River for years.
“This is not the way [I] would want to live. I would not recommend it for anybody. It’s really harsh—really harsh reality when you’re thrown into this kind of lifestyle. Oh my gosh, it’s unbearable,” Brackeen said.
Deacon Jim Vargas of Father Joe's Villages told ABC 10News it’s disheartening to see this development.
"This report and these numbers point to the fact that we don't have enough affordable housing, and we also don't have enough shelter beds,” Vargas said. “So, it's a double whammy. We need to get people off the streets in the immediacy. And yet, a shelter is not a home. It's a temporary stopgap."
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria's office said people becoming homeless is mainly a cause of the affordable housing crisis, and it's a top priority of Mayor Gloria’s.
"The majority of people down here are good people; hard-working people, you know, that would be good members of society. We really have a lot to contribute. We just really need a chance,” Brackeen said.
