Despite the city of San Diego's enforcement of the homeless encampment ban more than a month ago, a recent report revealed that the number of unsheltered people in San Diego County has only increased.
Findings from the Regional Task Force on Homelessness show that 1,475 individuals in the county became homeless for the first time in August. That's nearly 300 more people than the month before.
The task force also says that 80-85% of people experiencing homelessness became homeless while living in San Diego. Some are employed but cannot afford a home.
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"I just got tickets for 'Book of Mormon' coming into town, and I'm like, 'OK, it's mid-day, so that's alright, but we have to go this route and we're going to walk, but I don't want to walk through a camp" Maddy Roland, a two-year resident of Little Italy, said.
Roland says she has noticed more and more people experiencing homelessness in her neighborhood.
"When I'm walking my dog, we have to keep switching sides of where we're walking and just be on high alert because you never know what state [the unhoused people are] going to be in," she said.
Businesses like Pappaleco are also concerned about the rise.
"I've noticed a lot of more homeless that are actually probably very high on drugs or alcohol to the point that I had an encounter with a lady that had a scalpel, kind of like a knife thing, that pointed at me, and at that point, I cannot do anything," Kristina Toviloviz, assistant manager of Pappaleco, said.
While the city is working toward helping with safe parking lots, safe sleeping sites and low-income housing proposals, the number of people on the streets might not decrease as quickly as some wish.
"It makes me have second thoughts about buying property down here," Roland said.
