Santee Homelessness Survey

At the annual “Point in Time Count” (PITC), volunteers walk the streets, canyons, and riverbeds and talk to homeless people to get an accurate count and collect important data to inform where services are needed. The 2022 PITC measured a 92% increase in Santee’s unsheltered homeless population. The 2023 PITC occurred on January 26 and the data will be released this spring. 

The most recent survey of people experiencing homelessness living in in the Santee portion of the San Diego riverbed counted 135 individuals, which is nearly 40% of all the inhabitants counted in the riverbed between the Pacific Ocean and Lakeside.

Since 2020, more than 200 fires were reported within the City of Santee’s river corridor. Your Mayor & City Council recently passed an ordinance making it illegal to have any devices capable of starting fires along the river and allows law enforcement to remove anyone with such devices from the riverbed.

Since last fall, the City of Santee and the County of San Diego, along with other partners, conducted seven homeless outreach events along the river to offer housing and mental health services. Approximately 30% of those contacted accepted shelter and services. More outreach events are being scheduled for 2023. 

Court decisions place limitations on enforcing laws against sleeping on public property unless individuals can first be offered a free local emergency shelter bed. The County is working to create emergency shelters in East County so that law enforcement and homeless outreach workers can offer those shelter beds to the homeless in East County. Proposed County Homeless Shelters may include the following rules and programming:

• To qualify for services, individuals sign an agreement committing to:
  • No drugs or alcohol onsite
  • No violent or abusive behavior
  • No illegal activity
  • No guests
  • No loitering around the shelter site
  • Participants must work with their case managers and follow their agreed upon plan

• Proposed shelters will serve East County communities, no referrals will be accepted from City of San Diego. No services will be offered to anyone who walks up to the shelter site. Only individuals referred to the shelter through an East County case manager, who agree to the program rules, will be accepted into the shelter. Services may include:
  • 24-hour security for shelter residents and surrounding community
  • Case managers at the shelter to work with residents towards permanent housing
  • Access to mental health & substance abuse treatment
  • Access to workforce training
  • Access to state and federally funded programs like food stamps and public health insurance
  • Meals, bathrooms, and showers provided onsite