SAN DIEGO — San Diego's unsafe camping ordinance has been in effect for about six months but downtown residents say they've seen an uptick in encampments. Little Italy residents say they've seen a growing number of encampments around Grape Street.
"There's tents everywhere. People can't even walk on the sidewalks. The homeless people if you walk by their tents they get belligerent. They cuss people out. They threaten people. That's unacceptable. The city needs to do more," said Kevin Arnold, who founded the San Diego Neighborhood Coalition.
Kevin Arnold lives in Little Italy. A few months ago he founded the San Diego Neighborhood Coalition in response to what he was seeing on his own streets. It's comprised of neighborhood groups looking to address crime and homelessness. They feel the no camping ban, that went into effect at the end of July, isn't being enforced.
"It's just sad what's happening here," Frank said.
Frank worked in Little Italy for more than two decades and says he's never seen it look like this.
"I love good food. I love good beer but a lot of people are afraid of coming down here because they're afraid they might be attacked by someone who is homeless," he said.
Get It Done shows there's been more than 600 encampment reports around downtown just in the past week. CBS 8 reached out to the city and asked about the no camping ban. They say teams are working to respond to homelessness reports on a daily basis. If encampments block sidewalks, residents are encouraged to report to the city's Get It Done app.
Arnold says until more is done, residents are taking matters into their own hands.
"The community is coming together and talking with our elected officials and asking to come up with an action plan. Our goal over the next 6 months is moving these people from sidewalks to safe sites," he said.
The San Diego Neighborhood Association and Little Italy Association plan to hold a public meeting Monday, Feb. 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish Hall 1668 State Street with local officials, community groups and law enforcement. Call 619-371-8042 or kevin@sandiegonc.org for more information.
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