WEBVTT - How Liberal Mayors Lie About Unhoused People 0:00:04.440 --> 0:00:08.160 Hello, this is it could happen here and today it's 0:00:08.240 --> 0:00:11.559 me James, and I'm joined by four of my friends 0:00:11.560 --> 0:00:14.840 here in San Diego, and we are talking about San 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:19.320 Diegos lying there and how he likes to punch down 0:00:19.320 --> 0:00:22.520 on poor people even though he promised he wouldn't. So 0:00:22.840 --> 0:00:25.000 joining me today, I'm gonna ask you guys to want 0:00:25.000 --> 0:00:27.560 introduce yourselves. It can spend a little bit about what 0:00:27.800 --> 0:00:30.440 relevant background you have in the area, and then we'll 0:00:30.480 --> 0:00:32.080 get into it because there's a lot to talk about. 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:36.080 So Mandy, would you like to go first. I'm Mandy. 0:00:36.400 --> 0:00:40.400 I am I'm a homeless advocate and mostly do on 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:44.400 the groundwork mutually aid UM, and then I advocate for 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:48.560 them as much as I can almost city municipalities, UM, 0:00:48.640 --> 0:00:52.919 and just organize that way great, And Colleen, you can 0:00:52.920 --> 0:00:56.520 go next to us. Okay, Yeah, my name is Colin Cusack. 0:00:56.600 --> 0:01:01.440 I'm a criminal defense attorney and I uh represent uh 0:01:01.760 --> 0:01:05.520 proximately fifty homeless person's pro bono right now who are 0:01:05.600 --> 0:01:09.399 sighted with the crimes of survival such as encroachment and 0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:13.480 overnight camping, so I can challenge and have them to 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:18.840 quote unconstitutional Michael McConnell, I'm an advocate for people who 0:01:18.880 --> 0:01:22.240 are living unsheltered or homeless, and I've been working on 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:26.560 this for about thirteen years. First part working within this 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:34.000 system as a philanthropist, advocate, volunteer, former vice chair of 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:36.920 the Regional Task Force on the Homeless. I'm a founding 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:40.760 was a founding member of a local philanthropy group called 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:45.880 Funders Togethered and Homelessness San Diego. I have participated on 0:01:46.200 --> 0:01:49.560 quite a few initiatives such as a blitzweek where we 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:53.960 housed about a hundred people in three days, Cities Initiative 0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:57.560 where we worked on any veteran and chronic homelessness created 0:01:57.880 --> 0:02:02.920 the regions first by nameless for veterans. Worked on a 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:09.359 lot of unmandated CEOC Continuum of care initiatives such as 0:02:10.040 --> 0:02:15.160 how we score projects to get homelessness funding. UH long 0:02:15.240 --> 0:02:21.440 communicated with are endless elected official Todd Gloria, who's now mayor, 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:24.760 who's made so many promises over the years and so 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:28.360 many claims on homelessness. People just doubt almost everything he 0:02:28.400 --> 0:02:34.480 says about homelessness at this point, rightfully so. And UH 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:38.800 probably most most known for my on the ground advocacy 0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:42.160 now where I do a lot of in Camas support 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:46.919 work with of course unsheltered people, film the police around 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:51.520 in camera sweeps and enforcement of of laws that target 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:57.519 homeless people and continue that till this day. Nice Yeah, 0:02:57.639 --> 0:02:59.320 containing a lot of work on the street. It's great 0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:04.200 to see and the Levi's at least indeed, Hi you guys, 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:10.240 I'm LEVI gapone with homeful Solutions, UM. I have lived 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:12.680 experience and being homeless. UM. I also work with a 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:16.799 group of kids called Lived Experience Advisors here in San Diego. UM. 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:19.280 We try to hold them accountable and keep them honest. 0:03:19.600 --> 0:03:24.880 UM and uh we're also able to advocate for uh 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:28.000 a lot of what these people need in the recovery process, 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:32.680 just beyond like, UM, housing, which is the main thing. 0:03:32.760 --> 0:03:37.560 We know that the homeless problem is a real estate crisis. UM. 0:03:37.600 --> 0:03:40.680 And then I also work as a housing navigator downtown. UM. 0:03:40.840 --> 0:03:45.960 So I work with a case load of about two clients, UM, 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:48.920 about sixty or seventy of them. I would say, have 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:52.560 UM S, M I S and I'm down UM really 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:54.720 in like uh kind of one of the main areas 0:03:54.760 --> 0:03:57.080 of town that UM, you know, we have a lot 0:03:57.120 --> 0:04:00.920 of these people living outdoors, so uh, UM I'm at 0:04:00.960 --> 0:04:04.320 kind of the front lines of it every day when 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:06.839 it comes to people needed to get a shelter bed, 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:09.960 I'm the one that they cry to, um, you know 0:04:10.040 --> 0:04:13.480 when when they think that it's a you know, when 0:04:13.520 --> 0:04:16.000 they don't understand that it's the system that's broken. You know, 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:17.760 I'm the one that they get yelled at. But that 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:20.360 gets yelled at, but you know, they think I'm I'm 0:04:20.400 --> 0:04:22.960 not doing enough, you know. And um so it's really 0:04:23.000 --> 0:04:24.839 interesting to be able to see all sides of it 0:04:24.880 --> 0:04:27.880 and see the promises that get made. And I literally 0:04:27.920 --> 0:04:31.960 have clients come in and say, oh, hey, look everything's 0:04:31.960 --> 0:04:34.279 gonna be fine because the mayor just said this week 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:36.880 he's opening a new shelter. And I'm like, all right, 0:04:37.080 --> 0:04:39.720 let's do the math. That's a forty bed shelter, right 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:42.960 and there's eight thousand homes people in the county, so 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:46.720 you know, and so um yeah, I have to kind 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:49.880 of break down that. It's a good responsibility, I guess, 0:04:49.920 --> 0:04:52.720 to to break down the system to my clients so 0:04:52.760 --> 0:04:55.280 that they can understand how broken it is, as well 0:04:55.320 --> 0:04:57.520 as uh, you know, me being able to teach some 0:04:57.600 --> 0:05:01.320 patients to get them through the process too. So um yeah, 0:05:01.440 --> 0:05:04.560 that's me yeah, that's good, thank you, And so yeah, 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:06.600 I want to get into how broken the system is 0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:10.640 because it consistently I think, like every time, like I 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:12.160 like to ride my bike around a lot, I'm always 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:14.720 riding around town. Often are running to people who are 0:05:14.720 --> 0:05:16.920 in distress, right, especially when we ride past the hospital, 0:05:16.960 --> 0:05:19.200 which is something we can get into, and they'll be like, oh, 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:21.160 just just call up what you sort them out with 0:05:21.200 --> 0:05:24.159 a shelter bed and like, and then they'll have this 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:28.320 horrible moment of realization where they're like, oh shit, like 0:05:28.400 --> 0:05:32.120 there's nowhere for this person to go. So let's talk 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:34.960 a little bit about Todd Gloria. Right, Todd Gloria's are there. 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:38.800 He's a democrat. He ran on a very progressive platform generally, 0:05:39.760 --> 0:05:43.719 and what he's done has been extremely reactionary. And I 0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:47.400 wanted to start just by reading some Todd tweets. Todds 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:50.599 of poster um. Perhaps not not as much of a 0:05:50.640 --> 0:05:55.320 poster as Rachel Richel laying his I guess communications manager. 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:59.320 I think she has the soul of a poster and 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:04.840 will attack people working like Michael to help people, which 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:09.159 is distressing to see. But I wanted to Uh, I 0:06:09.160 --> 0:06:11.279 wanted to talk a little bit about Todd, So I've 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:15.320 got a few quotes here June. Yes, I will be 0:06:15.360 --> 0:06:18.080 the first to enforce the law against those sheltered around 0:06:18.120 --> 0:06:20.560 sheltered who break any law. But I will not use 0:06:20.560 --> 0:06:23.200 our code to harass and criminalize sick and poor people. 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:28.200 That's the number one Augusten. What if we chose to 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:30.520 take the resources we used to criminalize the homeless and 0:06:30.560 --> 0:06:35.160 redirect them to building housing instead? What if Todd um 0:06:35.320 --> 0:06:40.360 January in his tag Michael in this one. Maybe right, 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:42.599 but the sad fact is that this doesn't just happen 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:44.960 before the p I t C. That's the point in 0:06:45.000 --> 0:06:48.000 time count of unhoused people. It happens all the time. 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:51.200 It's unfair to the unsheltered and too STPD. My goal 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:53.720 is to end chronic homelessness. The only way to do 0:06:53.800 --> 0:06:59.000 this is with permanent supportive housing, not criminalization. Uh. You're right, 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:02.120 but that's not what you do it. Uh, Californians of 0:07:02.160 --> 0:07:05.600 all political views, No, a homelessness crisis is a serious problem. 0:07:05.920 --> 0:07:09.039 More housing and services, not criminalization. It's past time to 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:12.200 tackle this problem. I could keep going with these things, 0:07:13.240 --> 0:07:15.320 but I won't go. I think folks get the pictures 0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:17.680 so Tod talked a lot about how we don't need 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:20.440 to criminalize poverty, how we don't need to criminalize living 0:07:20.440 --> 0:07:24.120 on the street. UH, and then has proceeded to criminalize 0:07:24.160 --> 0:07:28.520 living on the street, right, and so maybe we can 0:07:28.600 --> 0:07:32.400 just start with these sweeps sort of happened pretty much consistently, 0:07:32.440 --> 0:07:36.840 I think since took office and UH people might be 0:07:36.880 --> 0:07:38.880 familiar with a little bit, Like they may have seen 0:07:39.720 --> 0:07:42.560 some of the bikes being thrown away that that was 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:45.040 like Michael had a video of that which which had 0:07:45.240 --> 0:07:48.280 how many views? Now, oh gosh, I don't know a 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:51.040 million or more. Yeah, it's a lot of people have 0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:53.080 seen that. But perhaps one if you would like to 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:56.880 describe like exactly like how a sweep goes down right, 0:07:56.960 --> 0:08:00.040 Like like there's there's a process of posting sometimes the 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:02.440 process of personal notices, but you don't have two personal 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:06.120 notices because people are encroaching. Like what's this sort of 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:09.320 justification for it? And then what does that look like 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:13.440 for people on the ground. February fourteenth of this year 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:19.880 is when Todd Gloria's started his UH sweep enforcement. Um 0:08:19.920 --> 0:08:23.680 it was unspoken, but during COVID UH they were just 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:28.760 killing people with COVID and instead of my police, although 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:31.640 the police were doing your own thing. UM. So this 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:33.800 is what the police do at the sweeps as they 0:08:34.000 --> 0:08:39.440 use a series of unconstitutional ordinances, city ordinances only existing 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:44.080 in the city of San Diego. UM. And these unconstitutional 0:08:44.160 --> 0:08:50.000 ordinances taken together make it illegal for UM anybody to 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:55.040 exist in public space. So me, our mothers, our children, 0:08:55.120 --> 0:09:00.000 anybody in public space can be ticketed for these violations 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:03.520 because they're so overbroad. For example, UM, standing on a sidewalk, 0:09:03.800 --> 0:09:07.760 just being there on a sidewalk, UM will be enough 0:09:07.800 --> 0:09:11.400 to get you a citation issued if you can't prove 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:14.679 you have a house to live in. UM. These laws, 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:17.600 like I said, they're written over broad. They apply to everyone, 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:20.400 but the police use their discretion to only use them 0:09:20.440 --> 0:09:25.600 against poor persons. The Vehicle Habitation Ordinance UM lists a 0:09:25.640 --> 0:09:28.760 series of items that if they're found in your car, 0:09:29.640 --> 0:09:33.439 police could use those to arrest you. And those items 0:09:33.520 --> 0:09:42.079 include things like food, water, trash. So everybody with food, water, 0:09:42.320 --> 0:09:44.080 or trash. It doesn't have to be all three, just 0:09:44.160 --> 0:09:51.120 one of them. UM could be the objected to being arrested, 0:09:51.160 --> 0:09:55.160 have their conford, have their taken to shelter, having their 0:09:55.840 --> 0:10:00.560 children taken to CPS and all because um, the city 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:05.160 wants to come after poor people with with ordinances. UM, 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:09.160 so here's the fund. The dis ordinances can be charged 0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:15.000 either as misdemeanors or infractions. Mayor Glory announced a progressive 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:19.520 ordinance scheme, which means on day one, say Monday of 0:10:19.559 --> 0:10:23.840 the week, the individual is issued a warning. On day two, 0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:29.560 the individual is issued a infraction citation. That infraction citation 0:10:29.600 --> 0:10:32.200 gives them a day to appear months down the road 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:36.240 UM to contest the case. But the very next day 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:40.160 they can be issued a misdemeanor citation. That misdemeanors titation 0:10:40.240 --> 0:10:43.720 also has a date months down the road the resolution 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:48.520 and then UM gave four they can be arrested and 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:53.080 taken into custody UM, all without ever having a day 0:10:53.120 --> 0:10:58.000 in court. UM. The citations, if there are issued to 0:10:58.120 --> 0:11:02.120 people in Midway or downtown San Diego, direct them to 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:05.199 appear in Claremont Mesa. It's about twelve miles away. These 0:11:05.240 --> 0:11:08.360 are individuals that have mobility issues. They can't get to 0:11:08.480 --> 0:11:11.880 and from court. They can't They can't really get to 0:11:12.040 --> 0:11:13.880 and from the end of the street very well without 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:16.640 police starting to take away their property. Court won't allow 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:18.720 them to bring their property in with them. The buses 0:11:18.760 --> 0:11:22.280 won't allow them to bring their property on the buses. 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:25.920 So they have to make a choice. Do they risk 0:11:26.000 --> 0:11:28.080 losing all the remaining property that they have in the 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:31.679 world to go to court to defend against the charge 0:11:31.760 --> 0:11:38.160 that they're really don't have the h The police can 0:11:38.200 --> 0:11:41.000 cite either as a misdemeanor infraction. But when they site 0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:45.280 as an infraction, that individual doesn't get UM an appointed 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:52.559 attorney and UM nor jury trial and so UM the punishment, 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:57.200 the issuance of the citation becomes the punishment process. We're 0:11:57.320 --> 0:11:59.800 just just trying to get to court and take care 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:04.880 responsibilities becomes a chore, even if later it's dismissed. We 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:09.160 found out two public records requests that of the misdemeanors 0:12:09.240 --> 0:12:14.920 that are being cited, are them are being dismissed. So 0:12:14.960 --> 0:12:17.880 people aren't getting their attempt, their their opportunity to defend 0:12:17.920 --> 0:12:21.200 themselves in court. They're all being dismissed UM and so 0:12:21.240 --> 0:12:25.640 if the city was was serious about believing that these 0:12:25.679 --> 0:12:28.880 individuals were committing criminal offenses, then they wouldn't be dismissing 0:12:28.920 --> 0:12:33.440 them after of them after they were were issued so 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:38.760 colleens talking about the the the laws or the codes 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:44.760 that are used to used during enforcement sweeps of people 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:46.920 out here on the streets. So the police go out 0:12:47.160 --> 0:12:53.600 and use these codes and municipal codes two write people 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:57.440 tickets and eventually take them to jail. That's just one 0:12:57.720 --> 0:13:02.120 kind of sweet that's the enforced and sweeps. There's also 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:07.480 clean up sweeps or abatement sweeps. We call them homeless 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:12.040 and canment sweeps or homeless community sweeps where per settlement 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:15.360 with past lawsuits, the city has to post three hour 0:13:15.559 --> 0:13:20.320 seventy two notices in areas. Then they come out with 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:24.360 the police and environmental services and clean up cruise and 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:26.800 they'll throw away all your belongings if you're not there. 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:30.640 So that's another kind of sweep. So there's actually two 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:33.920 kinds of sweeps. There's these clean up sweeps where they 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:38.280 throw away your belongings, and then there's the enforcement sweeps 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:43.600 where they just go out with sometimes, oh gosh, Colleen, 0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:46.920 we've probably seen as many as fifteen maybe fifteen plus 0:13:47.000 --> 0:13:50.280 police go out to ticket people in a particular homeless 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:53.120 community so and just put them through the ringer with 0:13:53.160 --> 0:13:59.920 all these citations that Colleen went through yeah, and then 0:14:00.640 --> 0:14:02.840 press LEVI are you familiar with the system? Right? I 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:05.920 think maybe the the idea here is that the police 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:09.199 are supposed to offer them shelter, right, if they asked shelter, 0:14:09.240 --> 0:14:11.520 they're supposed to offer it to them. Can you just 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:15.040 explain about how that shelter could be extremely difficult or 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:18.880 impossible for people to access? Yeah? Absolutely, and then I'll 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:21.720 tell you kind of some of the consequences that UM 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:24.800 people face even or as a result of this. But 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:28.760 um so, basically, like let me paint the picture for you. 0:14:28.920 --> 0:14:31.640 So UM our location as a drop in center, we 0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:36.960 don't have any housing here on site. UM and uh 0:14:37.040 --> 0:14:40.080 so the clients will typically there's a line out the 0:14:40.080 --> 0:14:42.240 gate when we get here at eight o'clock in the morning. 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:45.760 At eight o'clock in the morning until nine o'clock, all 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:49.360 I do is shelter referrals. So that's everybody that's coming 0:14:49.360 --> 0:14:51.160 in the door that wants to get a shelter bed 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:54.880 for that night that night. Right. We're doing this at 0:14:54.920 --> 0:14:59.320 eight o'clock in the morning, and oftentimes I will get 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:02.280 one or two. Some days I don't get anyone into shelter, 0:15:02.560 --> 0:15:05.720 um because by nine o'clock all of those beds are full. 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:07.680 And that's what they report back to me as the 0:15:07.720 --> 0:15:10.360 service provider, right is is at nine o'clock in the morning, 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:18.560 there's no more shelter beds. Um. And uh. On top 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:21.800 of that, to the other thing to to mention too 0:15:21.920 --> 0:15:25.200 is like, you know, the police are supposed to offer 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:28.000 them shelter, but um, we have like some kind of 0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:32.000 like conglomerates as far as organizations go in the shelter space. UM. 0:15:32.040 --> 0:15:34.440 So if a client is for some reason not allowed 0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:37.040 to go back to that shelter, um, that's one pretty 0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:40.160 much forever. Um and be it could be something like 0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:42.800 behavior like they got anxiety and yelled at somebody right, 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:46.520 or it could be uh, someone who can't complete their 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:48.280 A d l S as they call it, um, or 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:51.120 like an incontinence issue. Um. So there's times where a 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:54.520 doctor will say, yes, it is sanitary and medically necessary 0:15:54.600 --> 0:15:58.040 for you to use this little bottle or whatever, But 0:15:58.080 --> 0:16:00.240 then the shelter will then kick them out and not 0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:02.720 let them return for that kind of thing. So by 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:06.280 nine o'clock, the shelter beds are full. Um. In the beginning, 0:16:06.640 --> 0:16:08.680 when the Padres first started playing, they were doing their 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:13.320 sweeps real early Um, now they're doing their sweeps, um, 0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:15.440 after the time that I'm being told as a service 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:19.440 provider that the shelters are already full and um and 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:23.520 on top of that our shelter system, you're you can't 0:16:23.560 --> 0:16:27.400 stay there during the day, right, So some of these 0:16:27.440 --> 0:16:30.760 people that they're taking their stuff and throwing it away 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:34.040 are actually in shelter. You know, they just had to 0:16:34.080 --> 0:16:36.880 take their belongings with them back to the streets where 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:39.000 everyone can see them every day, and and you know 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:42.600 all that. But recently I had a client who we 0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:44.280 had spent like a month and a half trying to 0:16:44.320 --> 0:16:47.120 get him in the shelter every single day and it 0:16:47.160 --> 0:16:49.920 wasn't going through. Finally we got him in the shelter, 0:16:50.560 --> 0:16:56.480 and um, a ticket for encroachment had come up that 0:16:57.080 --> 0:16:59.000 you know, was not paid and he didn't go to court. 0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:01.280 So even though he was and shelter in the middle 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:03.840 of the day, the police officers stopped him, they arrested 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:06.119 him for his warrant. He was in there all weekend 0:17:06.160 --> 0:17:11.200 and he lost to shelter them. Yeah, so that's and 0:17:11.880 --> 0:17:14.280 perhaps you and Mandy could explain then, like some of 0:17:14.320 --> 0:17:16.760 the things, because yeah, under the guise of I guess 0:17:16.800 --> 0:17:19.159 a clean up or abatement or whatever you want to 0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:22.480 call it. Like often they're actively stripping people of the 0:17:22.680 --> 0:17:26.000 things that they need to access shelter, to access housing, 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:29.240 to transport themselves around, right, and just what if you 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:33.000 want to take on like what this means, M, Well, 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:35.760 they'll you know, they do it under the guys, we're 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:39.440 gonna you know, we're cleaning up the area. UM. But 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:44.840 they will drag entire tents full of people's belongings and 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:48.080 put them in the compactor. They won't go through them. 0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:52.159 They never look. Oftentimes there's medication in their ideas, paperwork, 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:56.959 things that you know, people have to have to survive. UM. 0:17:57.000 --> 0:18:00.480 You know, people can't get housing if don't have identify vacation. 0:18:00.840 --> 0:18:04.440 It's really difficult for them to get identification UM living 0:18:04.480 --> 0:18:06.680 on the streets. You know, it's it's a process, and 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:11.879 that process UM sets outreach workers back. So you know 0:18:11.960 --> 0:18:14.719 you've got an outreach worker who may have gotten a voucher, 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:18.240 got them an i D, and you know they've taken 0:18:18.280 --> 0:18:20.720 their UM. It's called the espadat when they're entered into 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:24.159 the housing system and they're waiting a housing match, and 0:18:24.200 --> 0:18:27.000 then their I D and everything gets thrown away, So 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:29.240 then the outreach worker has to take time to go 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:32.439 back and help them get another I D when they 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:36.000 could be helping you know, someone else get set up 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:40.840 to maybe get into housing. UM. You know, they don't, 0:18:40.840 --> 0:18:43.920 they don't look through the things. This causes um so 0:18:44.000 --> 0:18:48.119 much trauma for these folks. I've seen UM so a 0:18:48.160 --> 0:18:52.680 lot of times with sweeps. UM Sometimes I say, they'll 0:18:52.680 --> 0:18:56.040 allow people to gather their things and move them and 0:18:56.080 --> 0:19:00.120 then they'll sweep the area. I've seen times when they 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:05.160 have had people gather their things, they moved their things, 0:19:06.240 --> 0:19:10.080 and then the police surround their things while people are 0:19:10.200 --> 0:19:13.639 standing there and they placed their things in front of 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:18.080 them while they are begging for their things, and they 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:20.320 will not let them have them, and they will put 0:19:20.359 --> 0:19:22.240 them in the trash compactor in front of them. And 0:19:22.280 --> 0:19:24.680 it's I mean, the only way that you can view 0:19:24.720 --> 0:19:27.359 that is it's just punishment, Like you're not you know, 0:19:27.400 --> 0:19:29.840 you're out here, you're poor, we don't have many options 0:19:29.840 --> 0:19:31.520 for you, but we're going to do this to deter 0:19:31.640 --> 0:19:35.480 you because we just don't want to see you here. Yeah, 0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:38.520 Like I remember I was talking to someone downtown a 0:19:38.560 --> 0:19:41.200 couple of weeks ago and stop to give some folks 0:19:41.200 --> 0:19:43.800 some water, and like, uh, this person was saying, like, 0:19:43.840 --> 0:19:45.720 this is the ship I chose to bring with me, 0:19:45.840 --> 0:19:47.800 Like I didn't, you know, It's not like I could 0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:49.920 take everything, and these are the things that I wanted 0:19:49.960 --> 0:19:52.200 to keep because they were special to me. And yet 0:19:52.280 --> 0:19:57.000 now now they're being trashed. Indeed, I think a person 0:19:57.119 --> 0:20:00.600 was thrown in one of those bin lorries, right, yeah, 0:20:00.720 --> 0:20:07.480 like inside their tent and just fucking unbelievable. And so, yeah, 0:20:07.520 --> 0:20:11.480 we've established these sweeps are cruel. We've established that there's 0:20:11.520 --> 0:20:16.560 not really anywhere for people to go, right, and that 0:20:16.400 --> 0:20:19.520 they don't they don't provide a lasting solution to homelessness. 0:20:19.520 --> 0:20:22.080 They just they just move people around and make it 0:20:22.119 --> 0:20:24.720 harder for them. And so one of the things that 0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:27.240 we do in San Diego is that we have this 0:20:27.280 --> 0:20:30.119 thing called a point in time count, right, and I 0:20:30.119 --> 0:20:32.399 think there have been some fairly credible suggestions that the 0:20:32.400 --> 0:20:37.040 sweeps were increased in certain areas around the point in 0:20:37.119 --> 0:20:38.880 time count. So is what if you want to explain 0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:43.760 what that count like is and does? Yeah, so the 0:20:43.800 --> 0:20:47.400 point in time count really only captures like one night 0:20:47.520 --> 0:20:50.679 out of the year, people experiencing homelessness. UM, there was 0:20:50.840 --> 0:20:54.359 a couple of hostitles even in UM that process this 0:20:54.440 --> 0:20:57.399 year it was particularly really cold that night. UM there 0:20:57.440 --> 0:21:00.560 were some tech glitches that should have been worked doubt 0:21:01.040 --> 0:21:05.400 way more in advance. UM. But UM that really only 0:21:05.440 --> 0:21:10.560 pictures like takes capture of one night. UM. The data 0:21:10.640 --> 0:21:13.080 I like to often refer to because it just feels 0:21:13.160 --> 0:21:17.800 more realistic to me is um our TFH. UM states 0:21:17.880 --> 0:21:21.560 that in any given year, there's thirty thousand people seeking 0:21:21.600 --> 0:21:27.400 assistance for homelessness. So UM, whereas our point in time count, 0:21:27.440 --> 0:21:29.720 you know, shows one night. UM, there is data being 0:21:29.720 --> 0:21:32.720 collected all year round. So at the point in time count, 0:21:32.720 --> 0:21:35.240 you have a lot of volunteers, UM go out very 0:21:35.240 --> 0:21:40.480 early in the morning. UM, they have them count the population. UM, 0:21:40.600 --> 0:21:44.560 try to do some interviews with them real quick. UM. 0:21:44.640 --> 0:21:47.879 The interviews are very personal. UM. You know, it's a 0:21:48.040 --> 0:21:51.560 it's it's not necessarily something somebody wants to wake up 0:21:51.560 --> 0:21:53.840 an answer at five am. But we found some people 0:21:53.920 --> 0:21:59.119 that were, you know, willing to talk. UM. But that's 0:21:59.160 --> 0:22:02.440 that's the point in time account and a nutshell okay, 0:22:02.480 --> 0:22:05.640 And then like what's I know that Downtown? I think 0:22:05.680 --> 0:22:08.600 the Downtown Partnership collects our own data, right, because the 0:22:08.840 --> 0:22:11.919 data we have is very unreliable, what's our best guess 0:22:11.960 --> 0:22:15.439 at people like maybe in the city who are unsheltered 0:22:15.680 --> 0:22:22.919 at this time. I believe it's over fifteen unsheltered homelessness, 0:22:23.080 --> 0:22:25.679 meaning that they're not in a shelter or you know, 0:22:25.840 --> 0:22:28.639 some kind of program, Okay, in just and that's just 0:22:28.840 --> 0:22:31.880 in downtown San Diego, not the whole county, okay, yeah, yeah, 0:22:31.920 --> 0:22:34.240 So downtown San Diego, for people not familiar, is a 0:22:34.280 --> 0:22:37.800 pretty small part of a very large county, right and 0:22:38.240 --> 0:22:43.240 with I think San Diego has the highest ratio of 0:22:43.280 --> 0:22:46.040 average income to property prices anywhere in the country now, 0:22:46.200 --> 0:22:52.359 if I record correctly, it's incredibly unaffordable. And so this 0:22:52.480 --> 0:22:57.040 has led unfortunately but probably pretty predictably, to a number 0:22:57.280 --> 0:23:01.080 of deaths on our streets, right and four or four 0:23:01.200 --> 0:23:03.159 last week if I recall correctly, or four in a 0:23:03.160 --> 0:23:07.680 seven day period this August is it's hot. It's hot 0:23:07.680 --> 0:23:13.359 for San Diego right now. And despite this, we've seen 0:23:13.400 --> 0:23:17.520 this just like incredibly callous response from the city, I 0:23:17.560 --> 0:23:21.320 guess where Like we've seen Todd, for instance, talk Gloria, 0:23:21.359 --> 0:23:24.840 who's on there giving a speech in front of a 0:23:24.920 --> 0:23:30.040 shelter where somebody's remains were taken away a few hours before, 0:23:30.080 --> 0:23:32.359 and not mentioning that someone had just passed away in 0:23:32.400 --> 0:23:52.959 that place. I want to talk to people about the 0:23:53.040 --> 0:23:57.080 gap between rhetoric and reality, because if you were only 0:23:57.240 --> 0:24:01.000 learning about this from the city and its Twitter account, 0:24:01.359 --> 0:24:03.520 you'd think that it was fined right because he's posting 0:24:03.560 --> 0:24:06.440 about these new shelter pits. But perhaps you can explain 0:24:06.520 --> 0:24:08.840 how best that's to drop in the ocean and the worth. 0:24:08.920 --> 0:24:14.760 It's a distraction from the problems getting worse. I think that, um, 0:24:14.800 --> 0:24:17.679 you know, there's the reality that they want the public 0:24:17.720 --> 0:24:21.120 to see, and then there's the reality that's happening. Um. 0:24:21.160 --> 0:24:24.880 And they think that they're failing so badly um at 0:24:24.880 --> 0:24:28.960 getting people into services because um, many of the services 0:24:29.119 --> 0:24:33.040 just don't fit people's needs. UM. So they want to 0:24:33.080 --> 0:24:36.480 paint this picture that all the unsheltered people that are 0:24:36.480 --> 0:24:38.720 out in their tents, living on the street, or living 0:24:38.720 --> 0:24:42.480 in their vehicles are service resistant. UM. And I hear 0:24:42.520 --> 0:24:45.280