A different approach to homelessness

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Friday, March 22nd.

National City is changing its approach to homelessness. More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

County residents impacted by the January 22nd floods had an extra week to apply for Disaster CalFresh benefits.

Today is the last day to apply for this one-time payment.

People already getting CalFresh may also qualify for the Disaster CalFresh supplement.

To be eligible, you must be experiencing challenges due to the disaster. You can apply at benefits-cal-dot-com.

The fight in the Tijuana River sewage crisis is getting a financial boost.

Governor Gavin Newsom announced yesterday (Thursday) that 103 million dollars in additional funding will be used to repair the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant located near the border.

The announcement comes after growing concern about cross-border sewage.

Imperial Beach has been closed for hundreds of days due to contamination.

March Madness is underway.

San Diego State’s men’s basketball team is going head to head against the University of Alabama Blazers today …

It’ll be the Aztec’s debut in this year’s N-C-A-A tournament.

The Aztecs are the East Region’s number FIVE seed. Last year, the team made it to the N-C-A-A championship game … but lost to the U-Conn Huskies.

Today’s game starts at 10-45 a.m.

From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

AS CALIFORNIA’S HOMELESSNESS CRISIS CONTINUES TO SPIRAL OUT OF CONTROL, MANY CITIES ALONG THE WEST COAST HAVE TURNED TO LAW AND ORDER. CRACKING DOWN HARD ON PEOPLE LIVING ON THE STREET AND IN ENCAMPMENTS.

BUT SOUTH BAY REPORTER KORI SUZUKI SAYS ONE SAN DIEGO CITY HAS BEEN MOVING IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION. AND OFFICIALS THERE SAY IT’S WORKING.

Hector Hueso is driving down Highland Avenue in National City when he sees the tent. “We've got some issues here. Yeah, look at that. We have a tent right in front of the bank. That's not good.” Hueso is a caseworker on the city’s homeless outreach team. And the tent is worrying because it’s on private property, right in front of a Wells Fargo. They’re going to have to ask the owner to move it. Then his partner, Qiana Williamson, interrupts. She recognizes the tent’s owner. “That's, um. Oh, yes. Oh, he thinks we're by ourselves. We can talk to him. Come on.” It turns out it’s Gonzalez, someone they’ve been talking to for months now. A client of theirs. Even though Williamson and Hueso are here to tell him that he has to move his things, Gonzalez is happy to see them. He says the two outreach workers have been helping him for months now. With a new tent and a camping stove to heat up coffee on cold days – and scheduling appointments with Medical. “I was struggling so bad until I find them, and now my life is started to getting better.” For almost a year now, National City has been experimenting with a different way for the city to reach out to its unhoused residents. In most cities, this kind of thing (going out and talking to people experiencing homelessness) would fall to the police. Like in San Diego and Chula Vista.  Outreach is a vital part of the response to homelessness. That’s because it’s proactive and tries to bring services to where people are instead of waiting for them to call a hotline or walk into a shelter. But for a long time, critics have questioned whether police should be the ones leading that work. Dr. Odilka Santiago is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of San Diego.

We are increasingly relying on law enforcement, which is supposed to deal with criminal problems, to deal with social problems, and so they're not adequately trained to necessarily provide trauma informed care. Still, that’s the default for many cities. Because of worries about drug use and violence. That’s how it used to work here in National City. The city had its own HOT team of police officers. They would reach out to people they saw on the street, even build connections sometime. But they were also juggling other police work. They didn’t have the training to stay in touch and manage individual needs. And officials say the approach wasn’t helping people get into housing. So last year, National City started something different. They hired two trained caseworkers – people who have experience with homeless outreach and know how to build trust. Qiana Williamson and Hector Hueso. They called it the Homeless Outreach and Mobile Engagement unit. The HOME team. the more you know about them, the better you can assist them. Williamson says, you can’t be afraid to talk about how people became unhoused. I am going to ask, how did this happen? What can we help you with? And my point to talk about that is to be able to connect them to a service. I don't want to just provide hygiene kits. That's not outreach. That's not outreach. Outreach is engaging an individual and holding hope for them. Williamson and Hueso spend the day driving around and talking to anyone they see. Stopping by tents, checking under freeways and knocking on RV doors. The team has their own truck they can use to give people rides. They also have a lot of discretion. There are no quotas to meet. If they need to, they’ll spend a whole day with one person, helping them get to the DMV to apply for a state ID, for example. You might have heard stories like this before. There are plenty of nonprofit workers that do this kind of outreach. But what sets the HOME team apart is that it’s a city unit. One that’s independent from the police, but still has resources, support and direct connections to other city departments. Here’s Hector Hueso. We are basically making the mold for this program that we have. We started it, so we are able to kind of work things in a way that makes it easier for us or better for us to go out there and help the clients out there. The approach is based on an outreach team in La Mesa. In that program’s first year, homelessness decreased by a third. And it hasn’t gone back up. Researchers and advocates say those results make sense – these types of programs can really work. In National City, it’s only been about ten months. But officials say it’s already making a difference here, too. We've been able to help people out, get them off the street. We've been able to clear the streets. At the same time. We know everybody who's out there, too. But National City is also at a bit of a crossroads. Just a month after the HOME team got started last year, the city of San Diego passed its controversial camping ban. That gave the city more power to force unhoused residents to move. Since then, officials in National City say they’re seeing more and more people they don’t recognize. Chula Vista, directly to the south, is also considering its own ban. And city leaders in National City say they’re feeling pressure to do the same. Some experts warn that a ban in National City might undermine the work of the HOME team. It's going to hurt the relationship that the outreach workers have made with these people Rachel Hayes is a homelessness advocate with lived experience. Until last year, she was living in a tent in downtown San Diego. because they're not going to be able to find them. It's going to cause harm. It's going to add more trauma to people who already have a very traumatic life. This debate shows how decisions made in one city can totally transform what happens in another. Decisions like an encampment ban. And like a HOME team. Kori Suzuki, KPBS News, National City.

A month ago, KPBS checked in on two San Diegans impacted by the flooding on January 22nd.

Reporter John Carroll has an update on how they’re doing… two months after the disaster.

“It feels more like a year.  It’s very interesting how fast and slow like time has passed.” “Every time it rains though, we’re all kind of freaked out still.” The voices of victims.  Jessica Calix who was flooded out of the apartment she rented in Southcrest and Natalie Gill, whose Mission Valley business was flooded.  Calix is staying in a hotel in Miramar with her 8-year old son.  They haven’t had to move yet and she says that’s a big positive.  She singled out the county for being responsive to the plight of those who lost their homes. “They’re working very closely with community organizations, getting feedback from all of us, and it seems like things have been improving little by little.” But Calix says things are far from being back to anything like normal.  She has a full-time job and she has to take her son to and from school.  Still, she says she’s optimistic about the future.  That’s something she shares in common with Natalie Gill, the co-owner of Native Poppy… a floral business. “Our community, our customers have this opportunity to show us how much we mean to them. They come out and they support us. They ask how they can help.” Calix says forming community with her former neighbors has been a bright side as well.  But for both of them, there’s still a long road ahead… a lot of recovery still to happen.  JC, KPBS News.

YESTERDAY SAN DIEGO MAYOR TODD GLORIA ANNOUNCED HIS PICK FOR THE NEXT CHIEF OF POLICE.

METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN SAYS THE NOMINEE IS A 25-YEAR VETERAN OF THE SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT.

Assistant Police Chief Scott Wahl started as an officer, then got promoted to detective, then captain. In 2018, he helped launch the Neighborhood Policing Division, which focuses on quality of life crimes tied to homelessness, mental health and addiction. Wahl says he wants to invest in leadership development as more and more police officers reach retirement age. The San Diego Police Department faces an unprecedented amount of turnover over the next two years. My focus is going to be on developing our workforce and preparing them so that they are ready to rise to the occasion when we need them. The City Council will meet in the coming weeks to interview Wahl for the job. A confirmation vote is expected before June, when current chief David Nisleit will retire. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.##########

THOUSANDS MORE SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISAS COULD BE AVAILABLE FOR AFGHANS WHO HELPED THE U.S. DURING ITS 20-YEAR WAR.

MILITARY AND VETERANS REPORTER ANDREW DYER CAUGHT UP WITH THE SAN DIEGO NAVY VETERAN WHOSE ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN AT THE FRONT OF THIS RESETTLEMENT EFFORT.

SHAWN VANDIVER CO-FOUNDED AFGHAN EVAC DURING THE AMERICAN WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN IN THE SUMMER OF 2021. HIS VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN PUSHING THE GOVERNMENT TO HELP AFGHANS RESETTLE EVER SINCE. THIS WEEK 12,000 ADDITIONAL SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISAS FOR AFGHANS WERE INCLUDED IN THE BIPARTISAN $1.2 TRILLION OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL. IF PASSED, THE BILL WOULD AVERT A PARTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN THIS WEEKEND. VANDIVER SAYS THE COUNTRY SHOULD BE DOING ALL IT CAN TO HELP RESETTLE AFGHANS WHO HELPED THE U.S., PUTTING THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES AT RISK. ““THEY EARNED A PLACE IN OUR COMMUNITIES. THEY EARNED A SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA WHICH UH, WHICH IS A PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS THESE FOLKS WHO BELIEVE IN THE IDEA OF AMERICA AND STOOD UP AND TOOK ACTION AND ARE NOW AT RISK TO COME HERE AND BECOME AMERICANS.”

CONGRESS IS EXPECTED TO VOTE ON THE BILL TODAY (FRIDAY).

MARCH IS NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH … WHERE WE CELEBRATE THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF WOMEN.

WHILE WOMEN HAVE MADE STRIDES IN MEDICAL FIELDS … NATIONALLY … THEY STILL MAKE UP ONLY ABOUT ONE-THIRD OF ALL EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS.

AS REPORTER ALEXANDER NGUYEN TELLS US … A LOCAL PROGRAM IS LOOKING TO CHANGE THAT.

A YEAR AGO … BEFORE BECOMING AN E-M-T … JUDITH RAMIREZ WAS WORKING THREE JOBS TO SUPPORT HER DAUGHTER AS A SINGLE MOTHER. WHAT CHANGED RAMIREZ’S LIFE TRAJECTORY WAS THE “EARN WHILE YOU LEARN” TRAINING ACADEMY BY A-M-R. THE 16-WEEK PROGRAM IS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN A-M-R AND MIRAMAR COLLEGE. THE COMPANY COVERS THE COSTS OF BOOKS AND TUITION … AND PAYS CADETS WHILE THEY ATTEND CLASSES OR JOB SHADOWING. EARN WHILE YOU LEARN, WHICH ALLOWED ME TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL AND PURSUE A CAREER THAT HAS BEEN VERY REWARDING TO ME, AND IT ALLOWED ME TO GO TO SCHOOL AND JUST NOT HAVE THAT EXTRA BURDEN OF FINANCIAL – THAT FINANCIAL BURDEN. BUT FOR THE NEXT TRAINING ACADEMY THIS FALL … A-M-R WILL LAUNCH AN ALL-FEMALE CLASS. WOMEN WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THE PROGRAM CAN APPLY ONLINE AT A-M-R SAN DIEGO DOT-NET **SLASH** E-W-Y-L-INFO. AN/KPBS

That’s it for the podcast today. This podcast is produced by Emilyn Mohebbi and edited by Brooke Ruth. We’d like to thank Ben Lacy, Lara McCaffrey and Katie Hyson for helping the San Diego News Now team this week. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend.