EL CAJON HALTS FUNDING FOR EAST COUNTY HOMELESS TASK FORCE, BUT LEAVES DOOR OPEN FOR FUTURE FUNDING

By Jacob Pamus

Photo:  Pastor Rolland Slade speaks out on Council's decision to defund the task force.

Updated August 21 with statements from Bonnie Baranoff, Coordinatorof the East County Homeless  Task Force, disputing the city's assertions and media statements.

August 16, 2023  (El Cajon) – El Cajon’s City Council majority voted to drop its funding for the East County Homeless Task Force.  Ironically El Cajon has the most homeless among East County communities and 16% of the homeless in San Diego County. 

City Manager, Graham Mitchell said during a Council meeting in late July that even though El Cajon’s interests do align with the task force, “Over time, that alignment has been shifting.” Mitchell  noted that initially he was in support of the task force because of how many different perspectives were involved, including law enforcement and business oriented individuals, but now he does not see that.

The San Diego Union Tribune has reported that the City’s main disagreement with the task force is its Housing First Model, which makes providing shelter for homeless the priority, then focusing on more specific personal issues that are impacting them, such as addiction or mental illness. The Council majority believes that it is more important to focus on these issues first rather than housing. 

However, Bonnie Baranoff, coordinator for the East County Homeless Task Force, disputes this. In an email to ECM she states, "The task force is not a`“housing first model.' We have never publicly stated a position on this model." She adds, "Our vision is an East County that has a range of housing options ensuring everyone who lives here has a place to call home."

Mitchell believes that the task force is now working against East County. For example, more than 50% of homeless people in the county’s voucher program are sent to El Cajon,including paroled felons and drug users, which has resulted in crimes in the city. But Baranoff says, "The task force does not administer the county’s motel voucher program. Motel operators--private businesses--decide if they want to participate in the program. The task force was created to support East County residents’ needs, including emergency, transitional, and long-term housing. We do not “work against East County.”

The only member of the Council who voted against canceling funding for the task force was Councilwoman Michelle Metschel, because she wanted to give the task force more time to respond to the Council’s concerns.

Rebecca Branstetter, a public health advocate for the La Mesa-based Community Action Service & Advocacy of CASA, told the San Diego Unoin-Tribune in response to El Cajon divorcing from the task force, “There is so much to be done to help communities understand that we really are stronger together."The article indicated that Branstetter does support the idea that affordable housing must be the priority because there is evidence that shows that affordable housing can make it much easier for homeless people to get back on their feet.

During the Council meeting, Graham indicated that he doesn’t believe El Cajon gets enough credit for what it has done to help the homeless. It is important to note that El Cajon has the only shelter in East County, The East County Transitional Living Center, which helps homeless people transition off the streets.. El Cajon also has more hotels renting rooms to homeless people than hotels in other parts of the County. From 2020 to last month, the city has spent $4.1 million on this issue. 

El Cajon has also helped about 250 homeless people find permanent housing.In addition, the city authorized building of emergency sleeping cabins for homeless women at a church property. There have actually been attempts to build small housing in Lakeside and Santee but this never came to fruition due to residents not accepting this. 

On August 8 at a City Council meeting, two weeks after the vote to defund the task force, Pastor Rolland Slade made a statement on behalf of the East County Homeless Task Force. He started by saying thank you to El Cajon for funding the task force early on, and explained that with that funding, the task force has done quite a bit to support homeless people in East County, supported affordable housing and has even contributed to statewide discussions on policies.

He continued by explaining that CASA is now the fiscal agent of the task force since January 2023. He then made a disclaimer about the Housing First model “The East County Homeless Task Force never officially stated that it supports housing first, so we want to make that clear, and our vision is a range of housing options for East County communities ensuring that everyone who lives here has a place to call home.”

Pastor Slade added that by first understanding that the El Cajon City Council has different ideas of what causes homelessness, the task force would like to move forward along with El Cajon. “We hope to engage, inform, and advocate for a crisis response, prevention, and long term affordable housing,” he said.

Deputy Mayor Steve Goble was glad that  the taskforce acknowledged the accomplishments that East County has made instead of just bringing up what more there is to do. 

Goble said, “I am open to refinancing our support if there is a commitment for the task force to tell the people of El Cajon what they’re getting for their donations.”