Voices of the City Choir reminding us the homeless is not a crime.
The weather has turned angry. It’s raining and blustery outside as I’m writing this. It’s a bad time to be a human living without a roof over their head.
I’m also angry. I’ve just seen a video of a supposedly leading Democratic candidate for City Council who seems to think she can win by fanning the flames of hate towards our city’s homeless.
Here’s the money quote from District 2 candidate Dr. Jen Campbell, speaking to a group on Thursday, January 4:
“You see all those panhandlers on the corners? They’re probably not even homeless! They’re just pretending they are. They’re begging. Do they have a license? I doubt it. In the city they have to have a license. Is anyone checking that? No. We don’t have enough police!”
A video supplied by one of her opponents is embedded at the end of this story. District 2 Democrat Bryan Pease also pointed out the irony of her mentioning licensing, given that he was the attorney whose 2006 lawsuit struck down San Diego’s charitable solicitation license ordinance as being unconstitutional.
I have contacted the Campbell campaign by email, but have yet to hear back. If and when they do respond, I’ll share that information as an update to this story.
UPDATE: Dr. Campbell has issued a statement apologizing for her remarks. I’ve posted her remarks as a standalone story.
I doubt State Senator Toni Atkins, US House of Representative members Scott Peters, Juan Vargas, State Assemblyman Todd Gloria, City Councilman Chris Ward, and the host of big-name local Democrats are aware of this position Campbell apparently holds.
The Union-Tribune’s political writer David Garrick sang her praises as a “strong Democratic challenger” in a recent profile.
A Democratic candidate with wide support from elected leaders is emerging to challenge Republican San Diego Councilwoman Lorie Zapf’s re-election bid next year, boosting chances that Democrats increase their council majority to a veto-proof 6-3 advantage.
Dr. Jennifer Campbell, second cousin to high-profile Democratic national strategist David Axelrod, recently announced her candidacy and has received several key endorsements from San Diego Democrats.
It sure looks like the fix is in. I’d certainly like to know why.
***
Father Joe’s is holding their annual press conference to announce the temporary expansion of services to local people who are without a home–the morning after the bad weather has arrived. “Media must exit by 10:30 a.m. to allow for shelter setup,” says the press release.
Still, something is better than nothing. Tonight will be a better night for the lucky few who get to sleep under some kind of roof and the opportunity for a hot meal.
The local charitable organizations charged by the city with meeting the basic needs of homeless humans can’t meet the demand. Nor can they solve the underlying economic issues accelerating the number of people living on the street.
This is a political problem, and most everybody in an elected office knows it. Ten thousand inexpensive single occupancy rooms vanished as a consequence of redevelopment in San Diego. Monies that could be used for basic services (and housing!) for this population are squirreled away for other purposes.
Wages have not increased to match the cost of shelter. The thousands of housed homeless–those lucky enough to be able to double or even triple up in tiny apartments– are just one unfortunate incident away from living on the streets.
San Diego State University’s Institute for Public Health used numbers collected by service providers to get a better picture of just how widespread the problem is.
The Homeless System Framework shows that in fiscal year 2016, more than 19,000 people entered the region’s system of care. Of those more than 19,000 people, nearly 64 percent were new to the system, meaning they had not asked for assistance in the past.
And once on the streets, a divorce from reality is just months away. A friend of mine who managed to escape this downward spiral told me it only takes six months to go “feral.” Once people slip over this line it’s no longer just a matter of roof and/or a job (some are employed, BTW)–basic resocialization is required to keep them out of the abyss.
The Homeless System Framework also visualizes which services offered to those with a lack of permanent shelter provide the best results. Previous HUD research has shown that many homeless individuals who are placed into subsidized housing, eventually end up back on the streets because they require other services, beyond a home, to help them get their lives back on track.
I have an idea. Let’s take care of those who are actually homeless and deal with the fake bums later.
***
Before I get too far down this rabbit hole, let me save the “everybody knows” crowd some time and effort (before they share their misperceptions in comments) about homeless humans:
- 77% of those contacted by the Regional Task Force on the Homeless for the 2017 Point in Time count said they became homeless while living in San Diego.
- 40% are disabled
- 43% have a chronic health condition
- 39% have serious mental health issues
- 10% are alcohol abusers
- 14% are substance abusers
FYI– A 2015 report in Newsweek says 30% of Americans have experienced an alcohol-use disorder. 32 million Americans, nearly one in seven adults, struggled with a serious alcohol problem in the last year alone.
***
These are terrible times for humans who are disenfranchised by poverty, race, ethnicity, and gender. Empathy as an element of good character has been replaced by cruelty, both physical and emotional.
This corruption of basic human decency goes beyond across geographic and party lines. Here in San Diego, we have a leading Democratic candidate running for city council in District 2 who seems to think she can win by walking over the bodies of our local homeless humans.
Maybe she should consider volunteering for the 2018 Regional Task Force for the Homeless We All Count census on January 26th. Maybe she’ll actually get to see up close what these “bums” look like and live through.
Here’s the video:
***
I haven’t spent much time looking at City Council races–I’m finishing up drafting a series of articles about the District 4 County Supervisors contest. Come February I’ll shift my focus to the Council contests in the City of San Diego.
There are multiple ballot measures being proposed with the idea in mind of funding homelessness efforts. Given that they won’t be on the ballot until November, I’ll take my time to study each of them.
Today’s column, however, was a story that couldn’t wait.
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Doug Porter
Latest posts by Doug Porter (see all)
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(from my archives)
Bearing Witness to Homelessness in San Diego
MAY 9, 2017 BY AT LARGE 3 COMMENTS
Homelessness San Diego; Photo credit Michael McConnell
By Stan Levin / San Diego Veterans for Peace
They are here, by the hundreds, by the thousands, the dispossessed among us.
People having little in the way of the niceties of a comfortable existence
That equates with the concept of “Home”.
Many wear all the clothing they own, on their backs, day and night.
Some push their collection of meager possessions around in a shopping cart they have found
Or stolen, ahead of them in their endless wanderings
To nowhere in particular.
Their days are twenty-five hours.
Some arrived here hours ago, and some have occupied and survived the street for years …. even a decade … Incredibly, even more.
They make do with no bed other than a piece of cardboard
or ragged blanket isolating themselves from the concrete of the sidewalk or the tarmac of the street. Increasingly, tent communities are springing up,
Marginally better living.
No tub to bathe or shower in.
No toilet for nighttime relief
No sink No fridge No couch No car No washing machine.
Imagine that!
Wheelchairs aplenty
Teeth … not so much
Some panhandle “for a living”,
Others collect recyclables to sell,
Almost all make use of available charitable offerings.
They are down in their luck, but, make no mistake,
They are not stupid.
They are all genders, all races, the very old and frail, and the very young children.
Many are veterans of war, and show their scars. For what?
(But that is a story for another day)
Some are out on parole. Some cannot find work, lacking sale-able skills.
Some are educated, some are not. Some are healthy
Most are not.
They suffer, in common
Numerous physical, emotional and social ills.
They are burdened by a disproportional percentage of people struggling with PTSD, alcohol and drug addictions, paranoia, schizophrenia, dementia, depression, mental instability, or incapacitation by common or uncommon disease.
Victims of abuse, violence and rape …abound on the street.
These unfortunate brothers and sisters are broke, hungry, cold, fearful, abandoned.
They often smell bad of human chemical compounds.
They are devastatingly vulnerable and fragile … even those appearing strong.
(Be reminded it is not our place to pass judgment on them, not at all productive
beyond letting us off the hook, nor is it any of our business how people have managed to get themselves into such a sorry fix )
They are human beings, having worth, no less than the rest of us,
In some ways superior in their caring and sharing and looking out for each other.
Like so many species of forest animals, they are being inexorably
Squeezed out of their habitat
Into the shadows.
Creating more room to construct more pricey high-rise digs.
Accommodating, in the main, the immeasurably more fortunate among us,
Many of whom would rather the homeless would just disappear out of their sight,
Because they and their very presence are disgusting and scary.
Many newbies,
(I speculate),
are themselves new arrivals to the city, resourceful, buying up the neighborhood,
Providing obscene profits for builders, marketers and investors,
Adding pressure to the existing finite resources and to an already reeling environment.
(But that, too, is a story for another day, not to be belabored here)
Sidewalk occupants present an embarrassment to this segment’s tribal sensitivities,
Of this I harbor little doubt.
There is considerably more to know of the homeless dilemma
And much for the so inclined to empathize with, and show charity towards.
And for those willing
To shoulder the burden of dealing with the problem.
But, in summary, this is who the street people are.
And we San Diego Veterans for Peace are trying to lend a hand,
Doing whatever we might to alleviate the group suffering
To bring an end to what we perceive as an
Unacceptable
Abominable
Affront
To humanity.
I submit Homelessness in San Diego must be ended.
Peace.
Editor Note: Information on San Diego Veterans for Peace sleeping bag distribution program to our homeless residents: Expanding the Veteran Sleeping Bag Distribution Program in San Diego Compassion as a Radical Act
Stan Levin is a Korean War veteran and active member of San Diego chapter Veterans for Peace.
May as well provide the full list of endorsements listed on Jan Campbell’s website. In addition to the names you mentioned (State Senator Toni Atkins, US House of Representative members Scott Peters, Juan Vargas, State Assemblyman Todd Gloria, and City Councilman Chris Ward) you’ll find,:
* Honorable Christine Kehoe, Former State Senator
* Jess Durfee, Chair, Democratic National Committee Western Region, Former Chair, San Diego Co. Democratic Party
* David Axelrod, White House Chief of Staff and Strategist for President Obama
* Honorable Nathan Fletcher, former Assemblymember & candidate for SD County Supervisor, D4
* Colin Parent, City Councilmember, LaMesa
* David Arambula, City Councilmember, Lemon Grove
* Francine Busby, Former Chair, San Diego Co. Democratic Party
* Sara Boot, City Council District 2 Candidate 2014, Fed. Prosecutor
* Larry Baza – Immediate Past Chair of the San Diego Arts Commission, Member, Ca Council for the Arts
* Eden Yaege, President of the Clairemont Town Council
* Ryan Trabuco, President Emeritus of the Clairemont Town Council
Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters
* Democrats for Equality of San Diego Clairemont Democratic Club of San Diego
* Ruth Rollins, Former Chair, Council of Clubs
* Sunday Gover, Democratic Candidate for State Assembly, 77th AD
* Maureen Steiner, Former Chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party
Which seems for me a candidate NOT to pick…b/c she is HAND PICKED by those already getting Million$ of our dollar$ for regularly kicking the can(s) down the road. Endorsements mean bought & paid for! AND GUESS WHAT YOU’LL be doing the new paying! Campaigns SHOULD be won by shoe leather, and not money backed campaigns and commercials. When you SEE the candidates mark that! When you see in your mailbox dozens of mailers (then keep that stack!) Because IF THEY CAN SPEND MONEY LIKE THAT WITHOUT BEING IN OFFICE, think WHAT THEY’LL do when they get in, and have YOUR WALLET OPEN!
Anyone can Walk a District, but which ones do? And is it them available or volunteers, b/c you shouldn’t send others to get your vote or VOTE for YOU, or be obligated to pay funders back.
HOW DO I KNOW, Because I ran against Toni Atkins! Then she declared a Housing Crises EVERY MONTH, BUT NEVER REALLY GOT ANYTHING DONE in City Hall!!! Why we have the homeless problems as bad as we have now!
NO ONE LIKES ME, BECAUSE I’M HONEST, yet almost always when I talk to people they ask if I’ll run again…because they like my ideas. But I’m done with that…GOOD LUCK SAN DIEGO! Your gonna need it!
Nowadays, people talk as if there are right-wing conservatives, or Trump supporters, and everyone else. The “everyone else” segment is assumed to be liberal. But what is liberal about caring if fellow community members — men, women and children — have a home? It is not liberal. It is an acknowledgment that in a free society, in which we accept privately owned business as the main driver of our economy, there are costs we all must bear in order to support the competitiveness of the free market. When a business owner’s elderly mother falls ill, she needs a caregiver. When the business owner opens a restaurant, or a service company, he or she will not be able to pay all the employees of that company a wage high enough to cover the cost of permanent housing in San Diego and many other cities. When an affluent family needs a babysitter, to whom have they turned in this region? They have hired people who have no bargaining power and have paid them wages they cannot live on. What is liberal about meeting our obligations as a society to people who are left too far behind? It is not liberal or conservative, Democratic or Republican, to care about them. It is simply right. No matter what party they come from, no matter what philosophy, the Dr. Campbells of our nation have hurt us as a people, because they keep telling us we will be rewarded for our ill will toward one another.
To build on this…”Nowadays, people talk as if there are right-wing conservatives, or Trump supporters, and everyone else. The “everyone else” segment is assumed to be liberal.”
It amazes me all the time how far to the right the mainstream has been pulled. I was born in 1956, and I say that I was born an Eisenhower Republican. Guess what? Dwight Eisenhower would be portrayed as ‘far left radical’ today. Nixon would be left of center. My gosh, he even created the EPA!
So comments like Dr. Jen Campbell’s will get her endorsements and votes? To those endorsing her and voting for her I ask this… Do not be ignorant, misinformed by main-stream media, or steered by money in politics. Do your homework and due-diligence. There are enough blue dogs and conserva-dems in power.
Thanks Frank J for being so FRANK, what we need…wake up!
Fake homeless? Are we going to elect this woman?
The San Diego Democratic Party’s “Metro West” Area (formerly known as the Central Area) will be voting on Monday, Jan. 15, whether to recommend that the Central Committee endorse her, and the Party Chair has already announced that the Central Committee will vote on approving that recommendation the following night, January 16.
So yeah, like I said, the fix is in (unless some people wake up quickly).
So they are voting on Martin Luther King Day? When many will be out of town for a short vacation…Nat’l Parks are FREE that day! See : @Walk with him (facebook).
Please show them what we really need and not what PARTY PARTY wants, honesty, hard working LOCAL talent, with history to back up their statements. Peace!
I don’t care what she *might have done in the past that comment shows who she really is. That is not someone I want to be involved with policy. And IMHO working with the HEP A crisis could have been as much for San Diego business and tourism dollars than anything akin to humanist perspective. On a side note – I was homeless for a year. I am disabled. I never panhandled but I understand extreme poverty. And in a city that ignored the increasing housing crisis. It was known for a decade that with that crisis the homeless population would grow drastically. We need to find a candidate that wants to actively participate in solutions to help homeless not demonize them. Please find better options.
I suggest this candidate take the time to better inform herself about the issues before making intolerant and ignorant pronouncements about people she obviously has little or no contact with. We expect more…
I seriously doubt she’s that uninformed. She is simply saying what she thinks will get her elected.
I wonder what her medical specialty is? Plastic surgery?
Bryan Pease is also running and I endorse him. He’s brilliant and a born change agent. I know him well.
So does @PoorLivesMatt3r ($0-5 deals) twitter does also, WE ENDORSE BRYAN PEACE, who’s been involved already in writing law about homeless! Active, not distractive!
Wary of a rush to judgment, though I, for one, had nominated you, Doug Porter, as UT Person of the Year, but did acquiesce to that board naming the homeless victims of Hep A as worthy recipients of the title. Dr. Jen, as she was called, when she volunteered to recruit and support volunteers for the Dem party as neighborhood precinct workers (we who walk door to door in the weeks before elections and keep records on responses) was the rare person who responded to inquiries; e.g., her heart was in the right place and she gave her time to a cause. I do not understand her railing against fake homeless. Sounds like unsound off the cuff, and an opportune video capture. And I do support Bryan Pease’s candidacy.
Looking at it from a purely political point of view San Diego cannot have a Democratic super majority. We need what the British call the “loyal opposition” to give a balance or critical voice of any action the ruling party wants.
Is that hard to understand?
The opposition, in case you hadn’t noticed, is no longer loyal.
Whether it’s carrying out the will of those who would impose an authoritarian regime on us, acting on behalf of the oligarchs, or selling us out to a foreign power, the Republicans are to be avoided. Sure, the local GOP-Lite types are all smiles, but the fact is they are enabling a president who thinks third world countries are “shitholes,” that it’s okay to support pedophiles as long as they’ll vote for tax cut, and has zero understanding of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the rule of law.