Volunteers, Community Leaders Count San Diego's Homeless

About 1,500 volunteers and community leaders conducted the annual count of homeless in San Diego County Friday morning.

The results of the "WeAllCount" tabulation help determine how much federal grant money the local government and social organizations get to help get people off the streets and into housing, said Kris Michell, the president of Downtown San Diego Partnership, which helps organize the count.

She said it's especially important in San Diego to count homeless people who were veterans.

"Because there's a special push by the federal government to address veterans' homelessness by 2016," she said.

Michell said many local and state elected officials participate in the count, which puts them in direct contact with homeless people and exposes them to the issues they face.

"They not only count homeless, but interview," she said. "You really get to understand the stories of how they've become in this position. And that is something we all need to understand."

Congressman Scott Peters, state Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox, City Council President Sherri Lightner and City Councilmen Todd Gloria, Scott Sherman and Chris Cate were some of those who joined the count, Michell said. Mayor Kevin Faulconer was in Washington D.C., but some of his staff volunteered.

"This survey brings us face-to-face with the men and women who are living on our streets and help us gain a better understanding of their problems," Cox said. "Talking to them and hearing their stories allows us to craft solutions and services so we can get them off the streets."

While most of the political figures focused on downtown, Cate stayed in his council district, going through an area west of Interstate 15 between Miramar Road and Mira Mesa Boulevard.

"Homelessness in the Sixth District looks different than in urban areas like downtown San Diego," Cate said.

"We identified campers/RVs that were parked on desolate streets," Cate said. "We saw bicycles and personal items at the entranceways to canyons, perhaps indicating that someone was residing there. A solution-oriented and regional approach must be taken to mitigate and prevent homelessness."

This is the second year in which Cate, elected in November, has participated in the homeless count.

The results of the count will be released in March, according to a spokeswoman for the Downtown San Diego Partnership.

Last year, volunteers found 8,250 people in the county without a place to live, a 4 percent drop from the year before. More than half of them were staying in a shelter run by a social service agency. Almost 60 percent of those surveyed had been homeless for more than a year, compared to 69 percent in 2013.

Among other statistics provided by the task force:

— 74 percent were men, down 1 percent from the year before

— 17 percent were veterans, up 2 percent

— 46 percent had severe mental health issues and 31 percent had major substance abuse problems

The data also showed that half the homeless had been to an emergency room in the past year.

The Regional Task Force on the Homeless also helps organize the regional count. Executive director Dolores Diaz said the effort helps her organization understand the homeless population, which in turn helps them eliminate homelessness.

"Eliminating homelessness in our community requires a complex understanding of our homeless population and factors that led to them being where they are," she said.