SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) — In recent weeks, Hillcrest has seen a rise in the homeless population since police started breaking up Downtown homeless encampments.
News 8's Elizabeth Sanchez reports from Hillcrest with more on the unrest this has caused in the community.
In late September, San Diego Police cleared out two homeless encampments in the East Village.
They said the effort to move the homeless out of the Downtown areas was to allow the City to spray down the sidewalks to curb the deadly Hepatitis A outbreak - which has claimed 17 lives in San Diego.
But homeless advocates said these forced evacuations do nothing to address the systemic problem of homelessness.
To report public areas in need of power washing, residents can contact their City Council representative, call the City's dispatch center at 619-527-7500 or make an online request at sandiego.gov.
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