What Needs to be Done About the Problem That Involves Many Problems

Everyone agrees it’s a problem. And everyone agrees it needs to be solved.

But not everyone agrees on how to do it. It is the problem of homelessness in San Diego.

You’ve been hearing the stories today about the results of the so-called Point in Time Count of people who are living on the streets in San Diego and in cities from the South County to the North County.

While this count of people who are going through being homeless just a one-day snapshot, it is the only way city and county officials have of determining just how big a problem it is. But this latest report has prompted rising concerns among those who work every day at finding solutions.

As the president and CEO of the Regional Task Force on the Homeless puts it, “We have more people, we have more unsheltered, we have more challenges, and it is a little bit more miserable out there than I have seen in years.”

The problem is, there is no easy and quick way to solve the problem of people experiencing homelessness. That’s because it involves not just one problem, but many. Fixing the problem means fixing economic, social, mental health, addiction, and family problems.

But this latest point in time count is a sign of the times that maybe it’s time to get more serious about being willing to do what it will take, by all of us, in and out of government to make things better for everyone.

(Photo Getty Images)