Participants and former staff urge council to strengthen oversight of safe-sleeping sites

Several participants in San Diego’s safe-sleeping program and former staff addressed the council during non-agenda public comment, describing operational failings and asking the city to strengthen oversight of contracted service providers.

A participant who identified himself as a current site participant said staff at a safe-sleeping site issued him a 30-day exit notice and, he alleged, threw away or converted his property without notice. “They stole my property,” he said, describing the loss as an illegal conversion and saying the staff member in question received disciplinary time off but program-level fixes were not communicated to participants.

Anna, a former employee and participant with Dreams for Change, said she had seen situations where participants felt powerless to complain and asked the council: “Where are the check and balances for them?” She and other speakers urged better contract oversight and clearer avenues for participants to report problems without fear of retaliation.

Other commenters described allegations of serious abuse and deaths connected to program operations; those allegations were raised as public comment and have not been confirmed in the meeting record. Council did not take immediate action on non-agenda public comment but members heard requests to review oversight, grievance procedures and contractor performance metrics.