By Macy Meinhardt, Voice & Viewpoint Staff Writer
For our third Biscuits, Grits, & Politics event of the season, Voice & Viewpoint, alongside community leaders, dived into the intricate discussion on the politics of homelessness.
As San Diego grapples with a homeless population of over 10,000 individuals, 28% of which are Black citizens, engaging in solution-oriented conversations with policy makers, housing experts, press, and community leaders is vital right now.
Panelists invited to spearhead the conversation on the morning of Nov. 14 included Lisa Jones, Vice President of the San Diego Housing Commission, Aeiramique Glass Blake from the Black American Political Association of California (BAPAC), and Reverend Roland Slade from Meridian Baptist Church. Slade is also a member of the Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFH) and is co-chair on the ad-hoc committee formulated for Black homelessness.
As a multifaceted issue, speakers and members in the audience honed in on the various social, economic, and political factors that intersect with one another to shape the reality of a homeless individual living in San Diego today.
“When you think of homelessness, I want folks to think of it as a very comprehensive yet cohesive process that we need to take to address it right. Because everyone’s journey to how they got to homelessness or being in a shelter looks different,” said BAPAC’s Aeiramique Glass Blake.
In order to set the stage for discussions of this kind, Dr. John Warren, our publisher, centered the introduction on a note pertaining to the political nature of homelessness and as a precursor for where our city has landed with the issue today.
Looking at homelessness from a housing perspective, Dr. Warren mentioned the impact of racially restrictive covenants and redlining written in the early 20th century–meant to prohibit Black, Jewish, Asian, and Latino San Diegans from homeownership. Although outlawed in 1948, much of the racist language still exists in deeds within San Diego neighborhoods today including North Park, La Jolla, and Mission Hills.
Meanwhile Lisa Jones, who has served at the housing commission for over six years, spoke on the rent instability program, which helps pay rent for families in the City of San Diego with low income and unstable housing situations, such as eviction.
In speaking on the preventative aspect of the program Jones expressed to the audience “the best way to address homelessness is to keep [them] in their homes.” In addition, Jones also shared the importance of making sure all residents are aware of the resources and programs available by the housing commission so that they can be effective.
Aeiramique Glass Blake spoke about BAPAC’s “lane” as primarily policy and politics, however many residents in the community reached out to their coalition to ask for resources in housing. Therefore, in continuation of the prevention work already done by entities such as the housing commission, BAPAC alongside Black San Diego created a virtual resource center that aims to get people to stay within their housing, or back into housing.
V&V is dedicated to closing the homelessness gap by providing coverage that highlights the key issues that shape the lives of Black San Diegans living in homelessness. Got ideas? Share them with us via email at [email protected] and [email protected].
