Item 14 - Public CorrespondanceFrom:Jordan Beane
To:Steve Vaus; bleonard@poway.org; Peter De Hoff; Caylin Frank; Brian Pepin
Subject:RTFH Opposition Letter to the Proposed Camping and Storage Ordinance
Date:Tuesday, June 6, 2023 10:33:08 AM
Attachments:Poway Encampment Municipal Code Update Opposition Letter.docx
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EXTERNAL EMAIL
Honorable Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and City Councilmembers,
My name is Jordan Beane and I'm the Chief of Staff for the Regional Task Force on
Homelessness. Please see the attached letter from our CEO Tamera Kohler regarding ouropposition to Item 14 on tonight's agenda. If you have any questions do not hesitate to call me
at 858-221-3975. Thank you.
--
Jordan Beane
Chief of Staff
(Pronouns: he/him/his)
Cell: (858) 221-3975
4699 Murphy Canyon Road
Suite 104
San Diego, CA 92123
www.rtfhsd.org
RTFH Offices are closed every other Friday
I
4699 Murphy Canyon Road • Suite 104 • San Diego, CA 92123 • (858) 292-7627 • www.rtfhsd.org
June 6, 2023
Honorable Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Members of the Poway City Council,
My name is Tamera Kohler, CEO of the Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFH). I’m writing to you today in opposition to the proposed ordinance establishing regulations for camping and storage of personal property in public areas.
Right now, our region is seeing an influx of people into homelessness that outpaces our ability to stem the flow. As many of you know, we’ve found that for every 10 people who exit homelessness, 13 experience homelessness for the first time - an unsustainable number for our limited resources. We also know that our region has not seen a month since March 2022 where more people have been housed than experienced
homelessness for the first time.
The way to turn these sobering numbers around is well known. Our region needs to vastly increase the amount of affordable housing available to residents at all income levels. In the interim, we need to greatly expand our shelter capacity and options - like safe camping and safe sleeping sites that are alternatives to
non-congregate shelters - to provide everyone experiencing homelessness a safe place to get off the street.
We need all types of shelter options, connected to coordinated street outreach to see real reductions. These are the proven methods that will turn around our homelessness epidemic and change the landscape we see today.
Unfortunately, the proposed ordinance does not address the root causes of homelessness but instead focuses
on displacement backed by potentially punitive measures used against those experiencing homelessness in Poway. With a lack of shelter options across our region and safe places for people in Poway experiencing
homelessness to go, many individuals experiencing homelessness have no choice but to stay on the streets. If
an ordinance like this is to be implemented, where are those people who desperately need a safe place to stay but have no other option to go? Introducing punitive measures on a vulnerable population will not house or connect one additional person to
services. It will potentially make their ability to end their homelessness that much more difficult through loss
of connection to outreach and services, possible loss of critical personal belongings as well as increased tickets, fines, or arrests. This is something we should avoid. A recently published report by the Journal of the American Medical Association shows the terrifying impacts
of criminalization on an already vulnerable population. “This simulation modeling study of 23 US cities
projects that involuntary displacement of people experiencing homelessness may yield substantial increases in morbidity and mortality over a 10-year period,” researchers found. “Involuntary displacement is estimated to worsen overdose and hospitalizations, decrease initiations of medications for opioid use disorder, and contribute to deaths among people experiencing homelessness who inject drugs.”
The negative impacts on the public health and safety of those experiencing homelessness found in this study should give pause to all of you voting on this ordinance tonight. Not everyone in our region is approaching the issue of homelessness through these kinds of ordinances. We
have seen other smaller municipalities across San Diego County take a proactive and thoughtful approach to
dealing with homelessness in their communities. Encinitas has opened up a safe parking lot. The City of Vista has entered into an agreement with the Alliance for Regional Solutions to secure up to ten beds per night in existing low-barrier shelters that are a part of the Alliance Bridge Shelter Network. Carlsbad recently accepted a $2 million grant the city secured from the County of San Diego to expand Carlsbad’s only
homeless shelter to be able to serve women and families for the first time in the shelter’s 30-year history. All of these actions will make real and tangible impacts on everyone in their communities. We stand ready to
4699 Murphy Canyon Road • Suite 104 • San Diego, CA 92123 • (858) 292-7627 • www.rtfhsd.org
help Poway make similar positive improvements for everyone in Poway, especially those experiencing homelessness.
We have enough information to know that criminalizing homelessness and increasing sweeps does not solve the core issue of homelessness: a lack of affordable housing is the key issue. In fact, it will only make the problem worse, pushing people experiencing homelessness further away from the help they need to avoid them.
Let’s work together to follow best practices, increase our capacity to meet the needs, and work in collaboration to resolve the issue of encampments. By focusing on what we know works, we can make real and deliberate progress on this issue.
Sincerely,
Tamera Kohler CEO Regional Task Force on Homelessness
From:kevin kennedy
To:Caylin Frank
Subject:Homeless camping ban
Date:Tuesday, June 6, 2023 8:22:15 AM
EXTERNAL EMAIL
Good Morning,
I am writing you to express my support for a ban on homeless camping in our city. Thank you.
Best,
Kevin Kennedy