San Diego’s leadership must prioritize transparent, targeted, and accountable solutions.
Op-Ed by Charles Michaud
As the homelessness crisis intensifies in the United States, coastal cities bear the brunt, especially those offering services like methadone clinics, transitional housing, and detox facilities. Despite increased spending by state and local governments, both the number of unhoused people and overdose deaths continue to rise. Overdoses are now the leading cause of death for people aged 18-40 in the U.S., a fact that, as a young adult, I’ve observed anecdotally, but hearing it confirmed by the DEA is deeply distressing.
What I find even more difficult to comprehend is how, despite these rising statistics, funding for homeless services has skyrocketed without clear accountability. This raises concerns about how the money is allocated, whether there are metrics for success, and who profits. Since much of this funding comes from taxpayers, it’s alarming that city leaders continue to support organizations failing to deliver real solutions.
This cycle of inefficiency, known as the “homeless industrial complex,” is prevalent in many West Coast cities. The more homeless people a city has, the more funding it receives to “combat” the issue—resulting in economic rents and high salaries for nonprofit organizations. In San Diego, I’ve seen people use housing and detox facilities only to be discharged within weeks, without access to proper support like job training, sobriety programs, or counseling, all essential for long-term rehabilitation.
The solutions proposed by the City of San Diego, particularly Mayor Todd Gloria’s office, have been inadequate. For example, the proposed mega-shelter offering 1,000 beds would provide only 65 square feet per person—10 square feet less than the minimum space required in U.S. prisons. It seems the mayor expects the public to accept this without question, as long as they hear the headline “1,000-bed shelter.” However, for too long, city leaders have underestimated the public’s ability to engage meaningfully, especially those most affected by homelessness.
It is disturbing that San Diego’s leadership reduces homelessness to a mere housing issue. While expensive housing is part of the problem, placing people in hotels to lower the point-in-time count is not a real solution. This kind of treatment fosters distrust in the system, as many in the homeless community have experienced this firsthand.
To truly address this crisis, San Diego’s leadership must prioritize transparent, targeted, and accountable solutions. Without public and third-party oversight, organizations will continue to profit from the perpetual homelessness crisis, while more people die on our streets.
DEA Stats:
Prison Cell size:
https://www.nyc.gov/site/boc/jail-regulations/minimum-standards.page
Todd Glorias’ Megashelter plan (65 square feet per person):
https://www.sandiego.gov/mayor/citys-largest-homeless-shelter-plan
Housing first study:
Category: Other
