Nonprofit Shoreline Community Services in Pacific Beach has released a new quick response code to be displayed in local shop windows aimed at helping the unsheltered find services.

“I was approached by a young woman, Ksenia Goel, a senior attending online school, who came to me and said, ‘What if we made a QR code that, when people accessed it, they would be able to know what resources are available to them such as where to find a meal, get housing or benefits resources, do their laundry, take a shower, etc.,” said Caryn Blanton, executive director of SCS. “I said, ‘Oh my gosh, what a great idea to have all that resource information all in one place. This could be the answer to not all but most questions.”

A QR code is a two-dimensional barcode that is a machine-readable optical label containing information about an item to which it is attached. QR codes contain data for a locator, identifier, or tracker that points to a website or application.

Blanton said the QR code for unsheltered services is fold-up size and fits in a wallet or small pocket. She added she has taken the original idea one step further by “creating another track on the (code) menu where people can scan it and get information about what to do if they were trying to assist somebody who is unsheltered. So when you scan the QR code it has two tracks: One is I’m experiencing homelessness and I need X, Y, Z; and the other track says I’m trying to help somebody who is experiencing homelessness and I need X, Y, Z. And when you click through the menu it talks about access and gives numbers to different resources.”

Blanton pointed out the new QR code has numerous potential applications including helping someone figure out what to do when the problem is an overdose, how to report the victim of a crime, or what to do in the event someone is experiencing a mental health crisis.

“The QR code also helps for people who want to connect with the City’s Get It Done App if they want to report a need for an encampment clean-up,” Blanton said. “This is an amazing tool. It is going to empower people. It is a very quick tool that can put people in touch with the right resources at the right time.”

Blanton said the goal now is to get as many QR code unsheltered resource stickers in as many windows in local businesses, faith communities, and civic organizations as possible to spread the word that it is available and working.

Shoreline Community Services is also looking for more volunteers to conduct the annual point-in-time homeless count, which this year is taking place on Thursday, Jan. 26 from 4-8 a.m. “They’re desperate for volunteers,” noted Blanton. “It takes 1,500 or more across-the-board citywide.”

The unsheltered out on the street are not only counted but are surveyed by volunteers to get information on individuals and their needs. Here is the link if folks are interested in volunteering for the point-in-time homeless count: rtfhsd.org/about-coc/weallcount-pitc/.

CANDLELIGHT VIGIL

Shoreline Community Services held its second annual candlelight vigil walk on Dec. 20, 2022, on the longest night of the year on the winter solstice. Blanton said City officials came out and, following a meal for the homeless, formally dedicated a walk on behalf of the unsheltered.

“The purpose of it is to honor those who have died on the street the previous year,” Blanton said adding, “Our community is doing a good job. We’re not just waiting for other people to come in and fix our problems. We’re coming together as a community to find solutions.”

Toward that end, the Compass Station at 1004 Chalcedony St., which opened in June of last year, is making strides in connecting the unsheltered with services available to them. In the six months, the homeless services center has been operating, Blanton said there have been 3,374 guest visits by the unsheltered. She said SCS connected 105 people to County benefits, and 61 people to medical benefits as well as helped nine veterans access needed services. She said the nonprofit center helped 89 individuals to receive necessary documentation such as social security or birth certificates. Also, 152 people now receive mail at The Compass Station.

Best of all, Blanton noted Shoreline Community Services “helped facilitate seven family reunifications, while 88 people were connected to housing opportunities, while nine people were placed in permanent housing. That’s a pretty good year. It is so much more than I would have expected.”

Shoreline Community Services’ executive director said the goal in 2023 is to “start an employment program for people very much along the lines of the PB Street Guardians. It would start with cleaning and custodial/janitorial services, setting up and taking down tables for events, things like that.”