Monday, October 2, 2017 - NEWS RELEASE

San Diego – The City today approved an update to San Diego’s emergency shelter declaration that allows the City to continue expediting efforts to reduce homelessness and help stop the spread of hepatitis A.

“We are taking – and will continue to take – aggressive action to reduce homelessness and keep San Diegans safe,” Mayor Faulconer said. “We need to get to a point where there’s no reason for a person to sleep on the streets of San Diego. It’s critical that we continue the sanitation efforts that have made such a tremendous difference for our neighborhoods and move quickly to create more shelter opportunities that provide a safe and sanitary environment while people try to turn their lives around.”

Last year, the City Council approved an emergency shelter declaration prepared by the Mayor’s Office that allows the City to expedite the procurement process on goods and contracts. City Councilmember Chris Ward and City Attorney Mara Elliott worked with the Mayor’s Office to update the declaration with new statistics on homelessness and hepatitis A.

Last month, Mayor Faulconer announced the installation of three temporary bridge shelters in downtown, Barrio Logan and the Midway District with one or more opening by December. He is also working on the creation of a transitional camping site that is expected to open within days. Both efforts are intended to provide homeless individuals with a sanitary place to stay while work continues to add more permanent supportive housing options.
 

The City also continues to work closely with County public health officials on vaccination, sanitation and education efforts to combat the hepatitis A outbreak. Those actions include:

• Holding ongoing free vaccination clinics and connecting County nurses distributing vaccines to homeless encampments known by San Diego police officers. More than 43,000 people have been immunized so far countywide.

• Launching a sanitation effort to clean sidewalks and other public right-of-ways using a bleach solution. The thrice-weekly cleanings began downtown on Sept. 11 and have expanded to other neighborhoods.

• Adding more public restrooms with 24-hour access in the downtown area and assisting the County to install 63 handwashing stations throughout the city.

County public health officials have advised that the three steps to stop the outbreak of hepatitis A are vaccination, sanitation and education, with a particular emphasis on vaccination.

CONTACT: Greg Block at (619) 227-3752 or gsblock@sandiego.gov