People were killed by trucks and trains and the trolley.
They died with sepsis and COVID-19.
Investigators found fatal doses of Fentanyl and Fentanyl mixed with methamphetamine or cocaine or codeine.
Just since January, an estimated 550 homeless people have died throughout the region, according to preliminary data from the San Diego County medical examiner. This is the third year in a row to see deaths top 500 as the number of people becoming homeless continues to rise.
“Everyone should be grieving the loss of these neighbors,” said Megan Partch, Father Joe’s Villages’ chief health officer. “Until there is enough housing in our community for all of us to thrive, our belief is that this tragedy will continue.”
Health care experts said more people on the street meant more untreated and exacerbated conditions, and October was the 19th consecutive month that saw the crisis grow.
Nearly 1,160 people lost a place to stay for the first time, according to the newest report from the Regional Task Force on Homelessness. During the same period, fewer than 860 homeless people found housing, meaning the total number living in tents, cars or shelters rose by hundreds.
There have undoubtedly been successes.
Those that did get a home included 80 young adults, 100-plus families, more than a 120 veterans and 200 seniors. Officials have pledged to better utilize a voucher program helping people who served in the military and a new county effort offers rental assistance to older adults at risk of eviction.
The city of San Diego has opened a second site to safely camp and officials are looking for places to quickly build small homes.
But similar initiatives have faltered amid local opposition and many Point Loma residents are currently protesting a proposal to add beds to a vacant structure near the airport, known as H Barracks, arguing that it sits too close to several schools. Other shelter projects have hit roadblocks over concerns that they’re too expensive or on potentially dangerous military land.
For those still sleeping outside, Healthcare in Action is one group deploying medical teams to local streets.
“It’s been reassuring how many people come up and ask for our help,” said Michael Wu, physician lead for the nonprofit’s San Diego office. “There is just not enough support out there to help everybody who comes up.”
Losing a home might mean losing health insurance or transportation. Substance abuse sometimes results from people self-managing symptoms of a mental illness and overdoses can stem from drugs with hidden ingredients, said Laine Goettsch, an EMT and the group’s lead clinical support specialist.
On Friday, she’d run into someone on their way to buy Fentanyl.
The man had once gotten clean in a hospital, but after his discharge there was no support system to lean on, Goettsch said. Because of their meeting, the team was instead able to start him on Suboxone, which is used to treat addiction.
The organization plans to add a third medicine team in January.
San Diego County’s Medical Examiner’s Office is still reviewing nearly 300 deaths from this year that appeared to involve someone who was homeless.
Of those that have been investigated, there were more than 20 suicides and almost 20 homicides — prosecutors recently accused a teenager of shooting and killing an elderly woman — along with more than 50 “natural” deaths and 160 accidents.
The way many of those people were discovered was summarized in the data.
“Found, river bed.”
“Found, unmaintained median.”
“Found, Drainage Ditch.”
One of the most recent deaths occurred on Veterans Day. He was 55, Black, and his place of death was listed simply as, “Sidewalk.”
