When you lose Bill Walton, you’ve lost the pulse of the city – and Mayor Todd Gloria has lost Walton.

“I can no longer say that my hometown of San Diego, is the greatest place in the world, I can no longer say that SD is a safe, healthy, clean, and beautiful place, I can no longer urge my family, friends, tourists, and businesses to come to SD to live, work, and play, I can no longer say that our neighborhood for the last 43 years is still my dream, I am brokenhearted,” wrote Walton on his Instagram and Twitter accounts earlier this week.

Walton, an NBA Hall of Famer, and one of San Diego’s most famous residents and boosters, supported Gloria’s bid for mayor but is now disappointed with the mayor’s handling of the homeless situation. “Clean up our city, and let us reclaim our lives, we must fix our homeless crisis, we need engagement, rehabilitation, and constant enforcement, and we need it now,” Walton posted on social media.

The general consensus is there are more homeless on the streets of San Diego, especially in the Midway District, and the problems associated with them are worsening, which is tarnishing the community.

“Things are quickly going in the wrong direction,” warned Michael McConnell, a retired businessman living in Hillcrest/Mission Hills, who has been a homeless advocate for the past 13 years, daily bringing food, refreshments, and a listening ear to homeless dwelling in the San Diego riverbed. “I’ve never seen such desperation – and suffering – from so many people. I’ve seen folks dying outside, a block or two from a hospital.”

McConnell described the City’s Housing First approach to dealing with homelessness as the right one. But he characterized the way it is being handled as counter-intuitive. “When we do some of the right stuff, we do it on such a small scale that it doesn’t make a difference,” he said. “We nibble around the edge of doing the right things, and we double- and triple-down on the wrong things.”

McConnell believes the City’s system dealing with homelessness needs to be much more diversified. “You need a variety of shelters for different populations, those older and younger, and for families,” he said. “Maybe you could have some shelters that are more like camping facilities. It doesn’t always work to throw a bunch of people into a large jumbo tent.”

Added McConnell: “And shelters don’t solve homelessness. They’re a place for people to shower and sleep and use the restrooms. The big problem with shelters right now is that only one in seven people are getting into housing. My belief is if people want to access a shelter bed – we need to have it for them. We should have a proper place, a safe camp, something like that for them.”

The Peninsula Beacon contacted a couple of residents at random in Midway recently to get their take on whether they think there are more homeless – and problems associated with them – now.

“I think the homeless issue in SD as a whole is just so bad,” said Charlotte, who lives in North Park and works at Ralphs at 3345 Sports Arena Blvd. “The homelessness problem is just out of control. We need to get people on the street in contact with the resources that we have available to get them showers, shelters, voucher programs for hotels, rent control, and getting affordable housing in place as a safety net.”

Do you think homelessness is getting worse? “It is because I know that, with the rent increases, it’s pushing people out of their houses,” answered Charlotte.

William Yarling, a formerly homeless vet living in Little Italy who shops in Midway, had a similar view of the homeless status quo there.

“It’s (population) definitely growing,” said Yarling, who manages a complex housing previously homeless vets.

What needs to be done with the homeless that is not being done now?

“We’re not handling people’s psychological problems and mental health issues,” answered Yarling. “You can only put a Band-Aid on this situation so long: It’s just got be addressed.”

Yarling himself was homeless on the streets briefly after losing his job and his home. “I got off the streets as fast as I could,” he said. “That was not my life. I never looked back.”

San Diego Police Department Communications Officer David Surwilo, who operates out of Western Division covering Midway, agreed that homelessness in the neighborhood is a vexing problem.

“The most recent count showed an increase in the number of homeless on the streets,” said Surwilo adding, “The feedback I have received is that area residents and businesses do not feel as if the homeless numbers on the streets are decreasing.”

Concerning ongoing monitoring/enforcement of people living out of their vehicles on Hancock Street in Midway, Surwilo replied, “The area along Hancock Street behind Sports Arena has always, and remains, challenging with a steady-to-high homeless population. We are seeing vehicle habitation as well as tents, canopy dwellings, vehicle abandonment, and illegal dumping along the roadway.”

The City regularly monitors Hancock offering homeless outreach, clean-ups, and enforcement said Surwilo who added, “At this time the City is not enforcing the Vehicle Habitation Ordinances due to pending litigation. But illegal dumping, vehicle registration, equipment, and Oversized Vehicle Ordinance, narcotic and other violations are being enforced.”

Surwilo noted Homeless Outreach and Neighborhood Policing teams are “out on City streets offering assistance and services to the homeless. The assistance involves offering shelter and helping them obtain mental health services, identification cards, and medical help.”

Added Surwilo: “Every police officer in patrol can help arrange for homeless assistance on patrol. The police department additionally has Psychiatric Emergency Response Team staff who are licensed clinicians in the field riding with patrol officers.”

Homelessness in San Diego and in District 2, which includes Midway, is the top priority for Councilmember Dr. Jennifer Campbell. “Homelessness is a complicated issue, but Campbell, Mayor Gloria, and the Council are working to find homelessness solutions every day,” said Campbell’s office. “For the first time, the city, county, and state are working together to help our unhoused neighbors. The goal is to help homeless individuals find shelter, services, and long-term housing.”

Walter Andersen and his daughter, Karen Andersen-Thatcher, who own Andersen Nursery at 3642 Enterprise St. in Midway, both have first-hand experience dealing with the homeless. They characterized the experience as an ordeal.

“Our long, three-year fight with the City (over homeless) was a bitter battle,” said Walter Andersen. “I personally did about 10 Get it Done complaints. I stopped when a police officer called me and said ‘The new mayor has given the police department a hands-off the homeless declaration and we are helpless to try to do anything.’”

Andersen spoke of the huge homeless encampment in Midway off Rosecrans that was largely disbanded by the City back in February.

“There were close to 80 tents sometimes and about 200 homeless living on ‘this’ street,” he said. “Then the City had two port-a-potties installed, kind of like a ‘welcome mat.’  The City was condoning this way of life and the area they were using and calling ‘home.’ The City has been sitting on its hands way too long, too many years. So the homeless population explodes to a dangerous level. Disease, human waste all over, and needles everywhere. This is OK?”

“The section of Sports Arena Boulevard where our business is located was horrific for nearly a year,” agreed Karen Andersen-Thatcher. “I will say the last few months, the street has been cleaner because of regular SDPD patrols. While the encampment on Sports Arena Boulevard has shrunk, there are still many homeless in the Midway area overall, which affects all the businesses. We have had customers say they are not comfortable driving to our business (through the community) and they are not comfortable parking in our parking lot.

“In addition, the lack of enforcement in the Midway area is creating a breeding ground for crimes of all kinds. The City has created and exacerbated the situation, by ignoring the homeless in the Midway area for so long. Now the city has the difficult job of trying to undo it.”

Here are some solutions to the homeless situation that are being implemented in District 2:

• There are 194 new beds available to homeless individuals which have been added in the last six months in Midway (150 at the new Rosecrans Shelter, and 44 at the Community Harm Reduction Shelter on Sports Arena Boulevard). The Rosecrans Shelter is the first to offer onsite behavioral health services, and the Sports Arena Boulevard Shelter is focused on addiction issues.
• The Safe Parking Program in Mission Valley was expanded to 24 hours, 7 days a week. Safe Parking allows homeless individuals to stay in place and receive services. The four Safe Parking Programs in San Diego report treating more than 300 people nightly.
• Homeless Outreach Teams are still conducting specific outreach efforts in Midway, including Hancock Street and Sports Arena Boulevard.