Last week, the city of San Diego and the San Diego Housing Commission opened a new storage center on 20th Street in downtown San Diego. Up to 500 homeless people will be able to store their belongings there in 45-gallon bins, but so far only 38 people have done so.
The facility is available through referrals. Right now those referrals have to come from San Diego police or by another storage facility run by the group Think Dignity. A city spokesman said they are looking into having homeless service providers also give referrals to the storage facility.
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"If I could put my stuff over here I’d have more stuff," said Michael Haley, who sleeps on the streets in the downtown area. "But I have to throw stuff away just 'cause I can’t leave it."
Harley said carrying things around in a shopping cart can be dangerous.
"Well I got my clothes in there, my underwear, my 'chonies,' my socks and everything they can steal," Harley said. "They (other people who are homeless) steal everything out here. Everything."
A spokesman for San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said, "The new storage center is already helping people as it was intended… The gradual intake of clients at the storage center through referrals is about being good neighbors to the surrounding community and ensuring this program is successful for the long run."
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Amber Enlund has been homeless the last eight months and got a bin at the storage facility on Tuesday.
"I mean how can you like knock this," Enlund said. "They literally did my paperwork for me, got my bin out for me, took my bin back for me. Like thank you what do I have to do sign and date? All right."
The city and the housing commission will spend $1.4 million to keep the storage center open for a year.
