By Ken Williams | Editor
In North Park, some residents have been complaining via social media about homeless people camping out in the Morley Field section of Balboa Park as well as virtually taking over North Park Community Park.
“I believe some of the homeless want a space where they can be free of the pressures of life. North Park is a community of compassion and accepting attitudes,” said Edwin Lohr, president of the North Park Community Association. “Of course our neighborhood parks are a more attractive place to congregate but there are other places here in North Park where we see the homeless.”
Community concern over a perceived rise in homelessness in the hip neighborhood has sparked yet another public meeting to discuss the hot-button issue.
The North Park Community Association will present a “Forum on Homelessness — A Collective Impact” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the Lafayette Hotel, located at 2223 El Cajon Blvd.
Members of the community are invited to attend the forum, where city officials and local police officers will be among those who will discuss the following topics:
— Homeless awareness
— Facilities needed, such as restrooms, showers and storage
— Support services needed
— Housing issues
— Crime and safety
— Human dignity of the homeless individual
Participants will receive a handout that answers frequent questions about homelessness.
The forum will be the second one in recent months in North Park. On July 11, the North Park Community Association and a local chapter of the National Association of Social Workers conducted a “See Something, Say Something” meeting at Queen Bee’s. You can read San Diego Uptown News’ coverage of “What to do about the homeless?” at bit.ly/1IwnfFN
The official 2015 count conducted by the San Diego Regional Task Force on the Homeless shows that there are currently 8,742 homeless people scattered across sprawling San Diego County. Of that total, 4,156 homeless people are unsheltered.
Bryan Tarr, one of the forum’s organizers from the North Park Community Association, said that Jessica Lawrence, District 3 Councilmember Todd Gloria’s policy adviser and his point person on homelessness, will sit on the panel to discuss the issue.
Tarr said other panelists will include Melissa Peterman, director of the Homeless Housing Commission; representatives from the Uptown Service Center, a mail and computer center for the homeless in North Park; and the county’s Health & Human Services Agency’s Behavioral Health Services Division.
“Homelessness is a prevalent and persistent reality in North Park and other mid-city neighborhoods, but communities across the nation have had success in drastically reducing homelessness. This panel of experts will be focused on addressing the concerns and frustrations we hear from community members on the issue,” Tarr said.
“Homelessness is largely visible along the commercial corridors in North Park, however we know it exists throughout the community,” he said. “We are failing the homeless individuals, and we are failing our community.”
—Ken Williams is editor of Uptown News and Mission Valley News and can be reached at [email protected] or at 619-961-1952. Follow him on Twitter at KenSanDiego, Instagram account at KenSD or Facebook at KenWilliamsSanDiego.
