(San Diego) Rows of tents appear around a clearing, in a dusty area of Balboa Park, home to the famous San Diego Zoo, several museums and green spaces.
The 320 tents lined up in a former parking lot resemble a refugee camp. Those who live there can effectively be considered refugees, who have fled difficult living conditions on the streets.
Shayla Hupperts can attest to this: at 26 years old, she lived for more than 10 years in camps, where she was already raped and beaten. “Homelessness is very difficult for women,” she confides, petting her dog Wavey.
By obtaining a place last December at the Safe Sleeping site installed by the City of San Diego, with the help of the organization Dreams for Change, which manages the place, the young woman found herself two jobs as security guard. She is now waiting for subsidized housing. But until then, living in a tent, in a safe place, suits him very well.
“The people we receive shun traditional shelters, where the regulations are very restrictive,” explains Teresa Smith, CEO of Dreams for Change.
The site is intended to serve as temporary accommodation. Since it opened in October 2023, 68 campers have moved into permanent apartments.
Residents of the site can find a semblance of normalcy there. There are toilets, showers and a laundry room. Two meals per day are delivered on site, and there is also a kitchen area under an awning. Nurses from Healthcare in Action come every day with their van.
The place is quiet during the day: most of the residents work. They can easily get to the city thanks to a shuttle service provided by electric minibuses.
When Chris Coleman lost his wife to cancer in 2017, he fell into depression and lost everything, he confides, while waiting for his laundry near the laundry room. After four years of homelessness and drug abuse, the 65-year-old is getting his life back on track: a former truck driver, he will soon get his driving license back to return to work. “I also get help getting the grants I’m entitled to because of my age,” he says.
There is another Safe Sleeping location, with 130 tents, in San Diego.
“It took a little bit of work to develop the grounds: bringing in electricity, running water, sewer, weeding,” says John J. Lowther of the City of San Diego, who oversaw the site’s installation. . The tents were originally designed for ice fishing, he reveals. They do not have a canvas floor but are installed on wooden platforms, and you can stand on them.
In addition to the campsites, the City has created four secure parking lots in different locations. People who live in a trailer or motorhome can move in and receive various services.
The Safe Parking we visit, a little outside the city, offers 12 large trailers, provided by the City, to accommodate families. These are caravans intended to receive victims during major disasters, which had never been used.
They have large bathrooms and sleep six people. Outside, a play area has been installed. Children can also ride bikes along the trailers. Meals are delivered every day.
“It’s not easy to house families in shelters, the rooms are often cramped,” says Nichole McCune, director of Safe Parking for the Jewish Family Service, which manages the site. “Here they have more space and privacy. »
Here too, the majority of residents have a job, while their children go to school.
Although these initiatives have added several temporary housing options, there still aren’t enough places for all of San Diego’s homeless people who want a bed. The latest count conducted by the City counted more than 10,000 homeless people, an increase of 18%, while there are only 2,400 places in municipal shelters and camps, out of a population of 1.4 million.
“We have a centralized service to know where beds are available, but there are only 15 to 20 that open up each day, and they are distributed in less than 45 minutes,” reveals Nicholas Miller, supervisor of bed services. coordination for the San Diego Housing Commission. “When there is no more space, people have to stay on the streets. »
