It started with an act of disregard. A year ago, while 13 homeless people were eating inside an East Village church in San Diego, Calif., city crews and police threw the people’s carts that held their belongings into garbage trucks. After the incident, lawsuits accused the city of knowing the carts and their contents were not trash. On Tuesday, to make amends, the city council voted unanimously on a settlement that would fund a downtown storage facility for the homeless to store their personal items.
The city council approved allocating $100,000 from the city public-liability fund for the nonprofit Isaiah Project to operate a 4,000 sq. ft. storage facility for the homeless. The facility will be located at 917 Ninth Ave. by E Street. The homeless storage facility, modeled after one in Los Angeles, Calif., allows storage of belongings in huge bins that will be available four hours a day, seven days a week. It is not yet decided whether carts will be stored.
The San Diego police promised to make certain the facility is well patrolled and doesn’t attract loitering.
“We’re going to do what L.A. does,” said Sgt. Rick Schnell, who heads the San Diego Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Team. “If people do start hanging around, we’re not going to let them use the facility.”
Those in favor of the program said they’d prefer to see the items in storage than on city streets.
"I hope it cleans everything up. I want to make San Diego look as beautiful as it should be," said resident Tina Davis who works downtown.
The facility should be up and running within a week. The lack of homeless belongings on the streets could be a welcome sight to some of San Diego’s businesses as well.
"They've (L.A.) seen a huge improvement in their Skid Row area. Businesses are very supportive of it," said Gerry Limpic of San Diego’s Isaiah Project.
The settlement only has funding for one year, but city councilmembers said if the program is successful, they will seek permanent funding. The city staff report is quoted as saying: “It is anticipated that the one-year pilot program will lead to a significant (reduction) of blight from our street and be continued past the one-year (term) because of its success.”
The Isaiah Project is a nonprofit group with an innovative, street-level advocacy and outreach philosophy. The group is also seeking funding for public restrooms for the homeless.
In an effort to avoid another careless situation like the initial incident when police and city workers threw the belongings of the homeless away, part of the settlement requires a new system of notification when the city plans a clean-up. It is now required that abatement signs be more visible on the walls of buildings and under bridges. The next abatement is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2011, and in compliance with city law, the signs state: “personal property that is sanitary or saleable or usable or otherwise reasonably appears to be of value… will be stored for 90 days” and gives a phone number for people to retrieve it.
Sources Used:
“City Approves Storage Facility for Homeless.” 10News.com. Jan. 11, 2011.
“City Council to Approve Storage Facility for Homeless.” Last Blog on Earth. Jan. 11, 2011.