Disabled, homeless advocates protest city policies

While San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria has taken several steps aimed at helping homeless people during his first year in office, a small group of demonstrators gathered outside City Hall on Monday to criticize him for continuing policies they say criminalize homelessness.

Demonstrators specifically targeted a city ordinance prohibiting oversized vehicles being on the street or public parking lots between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., which some people say unfairly affects disabled people who have no other place to live. The city has suspended its enforcement of the law that prohibits people from living in their vehicles, but the oversized vehicle law remains in effect, whether or not someone is homeless.

Bobby Ewing, who was among about a dozen people at the protest, said he received $5,000 in parking tickets within three months last year and believes his RV was targeted for speaking out against the law.

His vehicle was towed from Mission Beach and impounded six months ago because he was parked in public after 2 a.m.

"They didn't give me a ticket or nothing," he said. "They just told me to get out."

He since has acquired another vehicle, and has received four more tickets.

The demonstration was organized by the San Diego Housing Emergency Alliance. Ann Menasche, senior attorney for Disability Rights California, was an organizer of the protest and led the crowd in a revised version of "The 12 Days of Christmas."

The song concluded with: "On the twelfth day I was homeless, the city gave to me, 12 more citations, 11 items missing, 10 police a-sweeping, nine council members jabbering, eight housing lists for waiting, seven shelters filled with COVID, six men a-towing, five days in jail, four surly cops, three locked restrooms, two stern warnings and a parking ticket on my RV."

Disability Rights California has a pending class action lawsuit against the city to overturn the vehicle habitation law.

Mayor Todd Gloria heard about the planned protest and said he agrees that more needs to be done to help homeless people, but he argued that he already has followed through with taking a more humane approach.

"I'm not happy with the status quo," he said. "San Diegans aren't happy, and I'm not, which is why we're doing more than anyone's ever done on this issue."

Last week, Gloria attended a ceremony marking the opening of a new shelter on Sports Arena Boulevard to help homeless people who have addiction and mental health issues. On Friday, he toured a housing facility that opened this year for formerly homeless seniors. He also has repeatedly said he wants more services, shelters and housing for homeless people and has worked with county officials to expand outreach to people living on the street.

Still, Gloria said laws must be followed, whether or not people are homeless.

"There will be repercussions for crime in our city," he said. "And being homeless is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. If that's where people are coming from, we're going to have an honest disagreement. If it's a belief that we must provide services as much as possible, I absolutely agree. And that's what we're trying to do."

Tony Rodriguez, a homeless San Diegan who was the subject of the 2017 documentary "Tony—the Movie," attended the protest holding a sign that read, "Housing, not handcuff." He said Gloria has the power to stop enforcement of laws that leave homeless people facing costly fines and without vehicles they use for homes.

"He could just make the phone call to the chief of police," he said. "'Stop arresting homeless people.' His word alone can do that."

Valerie Grischy, who is disabled and lives in her vehicle, said people do not understand that disability payments are not enough to make rent or live in a mobile home park in San Diego, which is why she and others live in RVs.

"They think we're just bad people making bad decisions," she said. "We're making the best decisions we can for ourselves."

Rachel Laing, director of communications for the city of San Diego, responded to the demonstration with an email that highlighted recent actions to help homeless people.

"It is not compassionate to leave unsheltered people on sidewalks and in encampments vulnerable to disease, assault, cold weather and other dangers," she said. "That's why, in 2021, we have brought 132 units of permanent supportive housing online, and there are another 476 in the pipeline. Over the past eight months since Operation Shelter to Home ended, we've added more than 200 shelter beds – an increase of 21 percent – and broadened the type of shelter environments we offer, which is evident in the opening of the new C-HRT Shelter for people who have substance abuse and behavioral health challenges.

"All of us share the same goal of ending chronic homelessness in San Diego, and we all agree the best path is to create the affordable housing needed for the unsheltered population. In the meantime, we are seeking to offer safety and shelter. We'd ask these advocates to take part in implementing realistic solutions."

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.

©2021 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.