Losing a lifeline

Last Friday, I was going back-and-forth with an editor during my first visit to the renovated Terminal 1. There aren’t a lot of stories I’d be willing to navigate Google docs on my phone for while dealing with TSA, but this was important. 

My editor and I were squaring away the number of San Diego households at risk of homelessness when a federal program ends this fall. Thankfully, we figured it out before the plane took off and the story was published Sunday. 

The answer is grim though: 386 households could be back on the streets when a rental assistance program ends prematurely. 

The San Diego Housing Commission does not have a perfect solution, but the agency is prioritizing the voucher recipients, directing them to project-based affordable housing units when they become available. There aren’t enough such units for everyone though, and some don’t like it as a solution at all.  

I spoke with two women who don’t want to leave the neighborhoods they’ve tentatively found safety in after fleeing domestic violence and human trafficking. They said moving once the program ends would be another upheaval that brings back past trauma. 

It wasn’t the response I expected. I assumed being housed, even in neighborhoods where they are concerned about gang violence, lack of economic opportunity and poor schools, would inherently be better than being unhoused. 

Their perspective was illuminating, although it also made the situation feel more hopeless than ever. They are doing everything they can to stay in the communities they have roots in, which is likely still too little with their incomes.

It’s tough to grapple with that reality, especially as a journalist whose help is indirect at best. But Katrina Lewis, the main voice in the story, was still thankful for the article, so I have to believe that more people knowing about what is going on means more ideas and offers of solutions. 

Give it a read if you have time.