My response to today's Politics Report in #voiceofsandiego

I encourage #SupNoraVargas to increase funding for healthcare, behavioral and mental health services and provide more restrooms and showers for unsheltered #SanDiego residents living downtown
voiceofsandiego.org/2023/01/07/pol…
Providing medical treatment, counseling, and treating unsheltered/unhoused people humanely is the first step in preventing many of these "horror stories" and conflicts. Many people living on San Diego's sidewalks are survivors of abuse, assault, and violence.
Rape and domestic violence are a leading cause of homelessness for women and children. They need help to move past these experiences and PTSD behaviors that can be triggered by street experiences, and result in aggressive reactive behavior.
Perhaps these "educational establishments" can learn from Downtown's San Diego City College and other SDCCD campuses, that have been providing services & support for unsheltered students & residents for years. These campuses provide people with with free/low cost classes...
...free access to WiFi, bathrooms, showers, safe permitted parking, free food & clothing pantries, etc.

I taught for the District for 20 years, including 8 years at the Midway-area West City campus, near the Rosecrans @SDCountyHHSA facilities, before retiring in 2020.
That location continues to attract unhoused students & residents from nearby shelters and Veterans Village. Many enroll in free classes to be able to use the campus counseling services, WiFi, restrooms, seating areas, etc. during the day when most shelters are closed.
Finally, Carlos Cortez, the new #sdccd Chancellor, is a proponent of building up to 10K affordable housing units on SDCCD land.

So #supNoraVargas: Take note:
Many of these "horror stories" may be preventable if @SDCountyHHSA provides more medical & behavioral health services

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More from @LoriSaldanaSD

Jan 7
FYI: As you talk w/unsheltered people, many are stuck in a recurring #PTSD loop, actively reliving past trauma
They may become- or be perceived as- a threat to others when they are actually struggling to survive/process a sexual assault or other abuse (including police sweeps)
1/
I often hear stories of surviving violence from unsheltered people talking to themselves:
"Get away from me!"
"Leave me alone"
"Get your d-ck out of my face!"
"I don't want to do that..."
It's horrifying- and all too common
+ #SanDiegoPD sweeps can trigger memories of abuse
2/
Imagine someone invades your personal space, gives you orders & refuses to listen to you.
If you've been in this situation before & were injured- those memories can overwhelm your ability to respond to what's happening in "real time"
Result: Behavior based on survival #PTSD
3/
Read 4 tweets
Jan 7
I’m posting these bench pics as examples of NON- #hostiledesign.

Most benches in #sandiego have raised areas to prevent people from using them to sleep- or are removed altogether from public spaces.

Displacing people is so common it’s become normalized
I joined a person eating a sandwich on one of the non-hostile benches, before he returned to work at a nearby gas station
He told me the current #MegaMillions lotto is close to a billion$ (attracting as many visitors to his workplace as the need for fossil fuels apparently)
2/ hostile design bench to discourage lying down
Our brief chat reminded me why we need MORE benches- not fewer
And yet: under #MayorToddGloria- ALL benches in City Hall Plaza were removed in 2022
Why? For the #TopGunMovie premiere at Civic Theatre, despite Golden Hall shelter residents needing places to sit outside
3/
Read 6 tweets
Jan 7
When the #SanDiego coastal zone becomes a tidal zone
#BombCyclone #Californiastorm
As #sandiego authorizes development in areas that may become prone to #flooding, but they’re not part of current FEMA zones that require flood insurance -people discover that standard homeowners insurance does NOT cover flood damage AFTER events like this

valuepenguin.com/flood-insuranc…
Read 4 tweets
Jan 5
Preparing to testify re:unjust #homelessness citations in #sandiego

Commissioner Pete Singer presiding

Also present: attorneys @objkshn & @ScottDreher1 and
#housing advocates @sullivanms @HomelessnessSD

1/
If you’d like to listen in- We are in courtroom B

First case to be heard is a traffic issue re tinted windows.

sdcourt.ca.gov/sdcourt/traffi…
Evidence is only now being presented. There was nothing offered prior to court during discovery, violating due process. A 22 min video is only now available to view.

“This is trial by ambush”- @objkshn asks for dismissal

Singer’s not prepared to rule.

3/
Read 22 tweets
Oct 8, 2021
Several months ago a request to modify a downtown redevelopment agreement & remove installation of a "Portland Loo" restroom was pulled from a @SDCityCouncil hearing

Does anyone know what has happened to this project since then?

1/ ImageImage
Public restrooms are desperately needed throughout #SanDiego for people of all ages, housing status & ability levels

The current model (i.e.- only customers have access to restrooms, via hotels, stores, restaurants, coffee shops, etc.) impacts #publichealth & transit use
2/ ImageImage
A @SDSU study also determined the lack of public restrooms is a #publichealth issue

3/ ImageImage
Read 4 tweets
Jul 11, 2021
Not sure who needs to hear this, but:
On July 11 #SanDiego will host a #Pride march and
the theme is #Resiliency

Related: I've learned a person who harassed/threatened me in 2019- until a court issued a restraining order against him- will likely be part of this event.

1/x
It's "likely" because he's been hired by an LGBTQ advocacy organization

Their Exec Director was not aware he's had 3 restraining orders in the last 15 yrs: One for harassment, two for #domesticviolence

I often relive this abuse & harassment since it happened in my home

2/x
I had wanted to attend the march w/friends- But the more I thought of being in public, surrounded by others who have been traumatized in recent years, the less appealing it became.

As a survivor: It's hard feel safe or be "resilient" when an abuser is marching with me.

3/x
Read 11 tweets

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