SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A dozen people have died at San Diego’s two safe sleeping sites for the homeless since they opened in 2023, Team 10 has learned.
“I believe the streets is better than being here to be honest,” said Charles Hunt, a homeless man, who used to live at a safe sleeping site.
Team 10 started investigating in 2023 after getting a tip that a man’s body had been decomposing for days in his tent before anyone noticed at the safe sleeping site at 26th Street and Pershing Drive.
The autopsy into Ralph Threatt’s death later confirmed his body was found after someone noticed a “foul odor.”
Team 10 has since confirmed 11 other people have died at the safe sleeping sites located at the edge of Balboa Park and in Golden Hill.
Threatt and another man died in 2023 of accidental overdoses, according to the county’s medical examiner’s office. The cause of death for the other 10 cases was not disclosed to Team 10 by the press deadline.
Homeless people who currently participate in the city’s safe sleeping site program were divided when asked if they thought the sites were safe.
“Being a professional businessman that lost everything, I couldn't live on the street. I wouldn't know who was going to go and rob me,” said Matt Collins, who said he became homeless after losing everything due to a gambling addiction.
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One client who was homeless in Ocean Beach before moving into the site in Golden Hill said he’s concerned about the number of people who’ve died.
“Poor Tammy just passed away a couple days ago and it's strange because the last time I seen her, I was watching her walk away, and I was just thinking to myself, 'Such a good person she is. I like her personality,' and that's the last time I saw her,” said John Borja, 48.
Safety top priority: City
The City of San Diego said the safety and well-being of participants in the safe sleeping program will always be a top priority.
“A majority of those participating in the program report they were previously sleeping in areas not meant for human habitation. The program has been able to reach a greater number of people who previously may have been hesitant to engage in other sheltering interventions and never touched the shelter system before,” said city spokesman Matt Hoffman.
He pointed out that the program is “low barrier,” meaning the city doesn’t ban people with substance abuse issues from entering, even though drugs and alcohol are not allowed on site.
Hoffman said nearly 500 homeless people died countywide last year.
“Programs like safe sleeping are designed to get people off the streets and get connected to the help they need to resolve their homelessness and get on a path toward stability – and, we hope, help prevent some of the premature deaths that are more common in the unhoused population,” he said.
