More homeless people are asking for shelter amid San Diego’s camping ban. Many don’t get a bed

SAN DIEGO — It’s a common refrain.

“Homeless people sometimes won’t accept shelter.”

Police say it. Outreach workers live it. Reporters witness those in encampments rejecting assistance.

But among hundreds of people citywide who do ask to stay at traditional shelters on any given week, the vast majority do not appear to get a bed, a share that’s grown since San Diego approved its camping ban.

Data from the San Diego Housing Commission shows that fewer than 20 percent of shelter requests were successful in recent weeks. Said another way, for every 5 homeless people who at least initially agreed to accept help, less than 1 ended up under a roof.

The commission oversees around a dozen facilities in San Diego, including several downtown run by Father Joe’s Villages and Alpha Project. Multiple locations managed more directly by the city are not included in the data, including two safe sleeping sites near Balboa Park.

A number of those spots were recently open, and it’s possible some people turned down the commission’s larger shelter system for the city’s.

Nonetheless, San Diego has a shortage of beds, Lisa Jones, who recently became the commission’s president and CEO, said at a board meeting late last year.

There’s “still a high number of people looking for shelter,” she added.

Local officials continue to push for more space as well as additional affordable housing, although many proposals will take months, if not years, to complete.

Requests for shelter, known as “referrals,” are often made by a nonprofit or homelessness organization on behalf of someone on the street. Some beds are specifically set aside for people found by police.

Around a year ago, shelters overseen by the commission repeatedly saw fewer than 300 referrals a week.

That total jumped to more than 450 during a week-long period beginning July 31, the day police began enforcing the ban. Referrals have repeatedly hit 400 in the weeks since, and wintertime can further increase interest.

A bed shortage isn’t the only reason why many requests stall.

People change their minds. They may never show up and can’t be tracked down. Sometimes they do arrive but discover their age or disability blocks them from climbing into, say, a top bunk, officials said.

During one 7-day period a year ago, only about 45 percent of referrals succeeded — and that was a good week.

Large shares have increasingly failed in more recent months.

Since enforcement of the ban began, multiple weeks saw a success rate of 20 percent or lower. One period hit 17.6 percent.

Sleeping outside will only get tougher amid the coming cold and rain, Eugene Mitchell, the Housing Commission’s board chair, said at an October meeting.

“That is the crisis,” he said.

The region should receive a temporary boost early this year when beds are made available at churches through San Diego’s Interfaith Shelter Network.

Traditional facilities have been around 98% full, according to Jones, the commission’s CEO. The other 2% is sometimes made up of beds reserved for people who, for whatever reason, don’t show, Jones has said.

The data is built on more than a dozen weekly reports provided by the commission. Each summarizes one 7-day stretch from the past two years. For example, the newest report covers Nov. 13-19. Taken together, they offer snapshots from 12-plus months.

The data also omits Veterans Village of San Diego’s Safe Haven, Little Italy’s Seniors Landing and four safe parking lots.

The two safe sleeping sites have room for more than 500 two-person tents. Four hundred and thirty-five people were staying in 360 tents as of mid-December, according to city spokesperson Nicole Darling.

It’s unclear how many may have first tried to get a bed elsewhere. Rachel Laing, a representative of Mayor Todd Gloria, said they don’t track how many Housing Commission referrals are redirected to the city’s network.

Local leaders this year hope to open what could be the area’s biggest shelter on an abandoned lot by the airport, although many Point Loma residents have said the land is too close to Liberty Station’s shops and schools.