In April, the Encinitas City Council finally and officially showed support for the Community Resource Center (CRC), rather than blaming them for attracting unruly unhoused people to Encinitas. In a unanimous 4-0 vote, they approved the CRC’s $30,000 grant application without the restrictions that were previously proposed.
An enthusiastic crowd of Encinitans stood and waved signs when CRC supporters spoke, vigorously applauding them. Many also wore purple to express their support.
The council’s shift began early this month after hundreds of Encinitas Action and Indivisible49 members, along with other individual citizens, wrote emails to the council praising the CRC as not being the problem, but a big part of the solution.
Early in last week’s meeting, Mayor Bruce Ehlers kicked off public comment by denouncing an Encinitas Instagram account’s long-running, hateful campaign blaming the CRC for the problem and comparing unhoused individuals to rats.
The highlight of Wednesday’s meeting occurred when Community Resource Center CEO John Van Cleef addressed councilmembers, outlining CRC’s decades-long service to the community and debunking many falsehoods that have been spread. He went on to answer several questions from councilmembers.
“I was moved to tears on the walk into City Hall and when I stood to speak, and the swell of emotion and pride as I returned to my chair is difficult to describe,” Van Cleef said after the meeting. ”Knowing you were all standing behind me and seeing what that actually looked like was positively overwhelming.”
The council will continue to discuss the homelessness crisis in Encinitas when they evaluate the Homeless Action Plan at the May 14th city council meeting.
Encinitas Action will be watching to ensure that the planned actions meet the commitment made by Mayor Ehlers at his State of the City address to treat unhoused people with compassion, while offering services to help them overcome the challenges they face that result in homelessness.