Dear Oceanside,
It’s completely unacceptable that Oceanside has recently made national headlines with statements from newly Elected Mayor Sanchez describing homeless encampments on our streets as “looking pretty good” because they are kept clean. Mayor Sanchez is completely out of touch with the reality of Oceanside’s homeless crisis and does not speak for the thousands of impacted residents and businesses that want relief and results.
Lifelong politicians like Sanchez have kicked the can of homelessness down the road for far too long and the multi-million dollar “band aide” approach has miserably failed Oceanside taxpayers.
Please support my upcoming council agenda item on March 10, 2021 that will discuss emergency actions we must take to relieve impacted communities and direction to staff on taking immediate action.
My plan will demand clearly outlined results from both staff and any contracted nonprofit for a 365-day program that begins with government dependency and sets individuals on a pathway to being fully self-sufficient. My plan has three components to include an emergency shelter, intermediary housing and permanent housing. We must partner with the private sector to provide social services, mental health services, drug rehabilitation, job and life training programs in a drug free environment that requires participants that are capable of working or volunteering.
The emergency shelter component will allow the City of Oceanside Code Enforcement and Oceanside Police Departments to enforce anti-encampment laws and vagrancy laws. We must not be naïve to the dangers and impacts caused by most illegal encampments to include organized crime, drug and sex trafficking and wild fire threats.
I look forward to hearing your voice on March 10th, 2021.
Respectfully,
Christopher Rodriguez
Oceanside City Councilmember