“The geographic shifts in populations of people experiencing homelessness to East and South County communities demonstrates the effect of the City of San Diego camping ban.”—Paul Downey, CEO, Serving Seniors

By Miriam Raftery

May 24, 2024 (San Diego’s East County)—The 2024 Point-in-Time Homeless Count reveals some significant changes for East County. East County’s total homeless population dropped by 28% overall from  January 2023 to January 2024, from 1,703 to 1,232.  That’s in sharp contrast to the county overall, which had  the number of homeless people increase by 3% to a total of 10,605,

However, some East County communities had sharp rises, notably in communities closest to San Diego, which recently enacted a ban on encampments:

• La Mesa’s total homelessness rose 86%, with a 47.2% rise in unsheltered;
• Lemon Grove’s unsheltered homeless numbers rose 85%

The sharp spikes in La Mesa and Lemon Grove may be due to  the city of San Diego’s ban on homeless encampments, suggests Paul Downey, Chief Executive Officer of Serving Seniors, a nonprofit helping low-income adults age 60 and up.