SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Some are concerned about Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order to clear homeless encampments.
“It’s one thing to ban encampments, but again, what happens to the human beings that are residing there?” Deacon Jim Vargas of Father Joe’s Villages said. “We need to do something as a community, and that’s where I say this is a call to action. We need to do better by our people on the streets.”
Vargas said Father Joe's Street Health teamprovides health care and other services, such as substance abuse help, to those on the street.
He added that the executive order could have a ripple effect on their team’s efforts to find people they’ve helped once an encampment is cleared.
“As encampments get dispersed, then there’s a disconnect, alright? And those individuals who we’ve helped in their health situation, they will regress, and they do regress because it’s hard for us to reconnect with them,” Vargas said. "From a health standpoint, we’re extremely concerned.”
Vargas's other concern is that if encampments are going to be cleared, there needs to be more ways to help the unhoused, such as more shelter beds.
“In order to be effective in the lives of the individuals, we need to make sure we apply the right resources that are necessary in order to lift them up and out of the state of homelessness,” Vargas said.
Vargas said that while more shelter beds are needed to help support those in encampments, the end-all solution is more affordable housing to resolve the homelessness crisis.
