I was guardedly optimistic to see this article about the homeless crisis in the North County 's San Diego Union Tribune yesterday. As a volunteer with the YMCA's homeless outreach in North County, Grape Park in Escondido is one of the spots we visit to hand out snacks, toiletries, socks, information about shelters, and other forms of aid. It's always heartbreaking, and I can't help but feel at times that the problem of homelessness will remain intractable. It's nice to hear that deputy city manager Bill Wolfe's stated primary goal is to better the lives of the homeless. I can only hope that this turns into sustainable and positive change for this beleaguered demographic. Here's the article by J. Harry Jones:
Over the past two months, Grape Day Park in the center of Escondido has become a family-friendly place again.
The homeless population, which for years filled the city’s most visible park all day, has been drastically reduced. Where once there were dozens, now there are just a handful.
It’s not an accident. The city has taken an aggressive approach not just with the homeless in Grape Day Park, but throughout the city — and is being praised by homeless advocates in the process.
“The city is proactively working to help our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness in a way I’ve never seen before, in positive ways,” said Greg Anglea, the chief executive officer of Interfaith Community Services, which saw more than 10,000 people in need come to their offices last year.
“I’ve seen an increased commitment to putting resources toward addressing homelessness in the past year. Bill Wolfe’s role has been a big part of that.”
Bill Wolfe, a long-time criminal defense lawyer who became a deputy city manager last September, has the option of parking his car in the executive parking lot near City Hall. Instead, he parks his car each morning in a parking lot kitty-corner to the municipal facility and walks through Grape Day Park, every morning and every night.
He talks to anybody he runs across -- the homeless, children at the playground, dog walkers, rangers. [For more on this story, written by J. Harry Jones, go to:http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/north-county/sd-no-grape-homeless-]
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