San Diego Councilman Chris Ward held a news conference Thursday calling for more recuperative care facilities in San Diego County.
Recuperative care facilities offer specialized care and assistance to homeless residents recovering from injuries not serious enough to require hospital care.
According to data from the Regional Task Force on the Homeless, 35 percent of homeless residents in San Diego are 55 or older and 43 percent suffer from a physical or mental health issue.
“Living in crisis on our streets after discharge from a medical facility exacerbates existing medical conditions and strains our system’s public health and homeless services components,” Ward said.
City and regional leaders joined me to highlight the dire need for recuperative care facilities in the City and County. There are only 73 recuperative care beds in the county, and an unsheltered pop. of 4,990. As a region we need to do more. My statement: https://t.co/MwtPtA08G7 pic.twitter.com/pmea9bYt41
— Christopher Ward (@ChrisWardD3) August 30, 2018
Former Assemblyman and current county supervisor candidate Nathan Fletcher, Interfaith Community Services CEO Greg Anglea and Benjamin Nicholls of the Hillcrest Business Association joined Ward at the news conference, also voicing their support for an increase in recuperative care services.
“These programs help people in crisis and also allow our first responders make an even greater difference in the community,” Anglea said. “We know the tools that work, we just need the investment to deliver solutions.”
— City News Service
