CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) – Chula Vista’s mayor said he believes the increase in the homeless population in the South Bay city may be related to ordinances in effect in neighboring cities.
Mayor John McCann told ABC 10News reporter Spencer Soicher, “As cities make ordinances that crack down on their homeless population, we’re seeing them move to other cities, including our city.”
“We’ve seen a steady increase, but again, we have some of the same restrictions,” McCann added.
Chula Vista recently finished a September point-in-time homeless count, and the city found a majority of the people they spoke with were not originally from Chula Vista.
McCann said the city could always use more resources, but the findings showed many of the unhoused people refused to use them.
“That’s a huge struggle. We have the opportunity to help people, but if they don’t want to get off drugs, they don’t want to get off alcohol, or they may have mental issues or a combination, it’s hard to help them,” McCann told Soicher.
Since February 2023, Chula Vista officials said several partners and organizations have provided housing to 162 people or families. However, 536 people they reached chose to decline the city’s help.
Angelica Davis, the Homeless Solutions Manager for the city, said, “Those are the people that we are persistent with week after week. We talked to them one week, they'll say that they're ready. We come back for them and unfortunately, they're gone.”
According to Davis, one of the reasons the city presented these findings was to show that while the issue is challenging, resources are being offered.
“The programs are available; if they’re ready, we’re ready for them,” Davis said.
McCann said, “We're being proactive as possible. Making sure that we're providing good services and holding people accountable and making sure that we give them the opportunity to get homeless off the street.”
McCann believes his city needs to strike a balance between making sure it offers help to the homeless while also allowing them to do what they want in a lawful manner.
