Logan Heights Church Makes Final Push Against Homeless Storage Facility

A Catholic parish and elementary school is waging one last fight to try and keep a homeless storage facility from moving in next door.Parishioners at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Logan Heights say the property is already surrounded by transients, and they’re not happy with plans to turn a warehouse just 15 feet from the schoolyard on 20th Street into a homeless storage facility. Surge of Gun Violence Draws Ire of Mayor, SDPD Chief In an attempt to push the city to move services for the homeless into other communities, the church announced the start of a “Fair Share” committee.It’s a group that people join in person or online at fairsharesd.com, and they can find information and flyers to petition councilmembers for what they call a more just distribution of homeless services throughout the city. Pregnant Woman Accused of Passing Counterfeit $100 Bills “This facility should not be opened at all,” said Father John Auther. “These storage facilities should be spaced in every district.”Principal Noel Bishop says homeless people in the area — some aggressive, some using drugs and others committing lewd acts in plain sight — forced him to shut down the playground. 1 San Diego Brunch Spot Named as One of Best in the U.S. “There’s a big fear,” Bishop said. “That’s why we want to look at getting a security guard, we’re looking at getting cameras to keep our community safe.”Just last month a homeless woman threw a kneeler through the window of an Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine.Despite the safety concerns in an area already saturated by homeless services, preparations are underway to paint a city council-approved, 500-unit storage center for homeless people.“It’s unbelievable what the mayor and council are doing to this area.”Mayor Kevin Faulconer has mandated increased patrols in the area and city officials say security will be provided within a one block radius of the storage center.“They need to keep their promise,” Bishop said.If not, it’ll stoke even more concerns from people like Terry Campa, whose grandchildren may not follow in the family footsteps of attending Our Lady’s School.“It’s really sad because there are so many dangers and you want what’s best for your children and you want a good Catholic education,” Campa said.School officials say they’re not against the homeless. In fact, they say students do service projects to help them.The homeless storage facility scheduled to open, at the earliest, by June 13.
Source: NBC San Diego