A series of maps created by the Partnership<\/a>\u00a0shows\u00a0South County census tracts\u00a0with\u00a0some of the county\u2019s highest employment-related needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cWe have to\u00a0be bridging\u00a0the gap,\u201d Bereza said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That goal \u2013 bridging the gap between South County\u2019s needs and opportunities\u00a0\u2013\u00a0is\u00a0increasingly\u00a0a\u00a0top focus of regional leaders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Recently elected South County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre\u00a0said in an interview this week\u00a0that one of her\u00a0priorities in office is addressing \u201cthe cost of living in our community and putting working families first.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
State\u00a0Assemblymember David Alvarez\u00a0recently passed legislation aimed at fast-tracking\u00a0the development of a four-year university in Chula Vista.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The city of Chula Vista has begun\u00a0drafting a five-year strategic plan to address homelessness.\u00a0National City Councilmember Jose Rodriguez\u00a0recently\u00a0voiced support for\u00a0an effort led by\u00a0local\u00a0community organizers to\u00a0adopt a citywide\u00a0rent\u00a0control ordinance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are signs\u00a0that\u00a0such\u00a0efforts to help\u00a0South County\u2019s\u00a0neediest are gaining traction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last month,\u00a0SBCS, formerly known as\u00a0South Bay Community Services, one of the region\u2019s largest\u00a0service providers to people\u00a0facing homelessness, domestic violence,\u00a0healthcare\u00a0needs\u00a0and other challenges, opened a new $34 million service center across the street from Chula Vista City Hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The center\u00a0will\u00a0enable the organization to offer counseling, housing, youth\u00a0development\u00a0and other services to\u00a0roughly 60,000\u00a0people per year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur community depends on us, and the need is greater than ever,\u201d\u00a0SBCS CEO Kathie Lembo\u00a0said\u00a0at the opening of the new center.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Also last month, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan unveiled a new\u00a0family justice\u00a0center in National City that will provide counseling, legal\u00a0assistance\u00a0and other services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human\u00a0trafficking\u00a0and\u00a0similar\u00a0crimes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The center, Stephan said, would help to \u201cdismantle generational cycles of trauma.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At a luncheon gathering earlier this year at the\u00a0San Diego Rescue Mission\u2019s South County Lighthouse homeless shelter in National City,\u00a0staff celebrated the graduation of former shelter resident Joshua Herron\u00a0from the Rescue Mission\u2019s two-year\u00a0recovery and life skills program.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Herron\u00a0was the first resident of the\u00a0year-old\u00a0Lighthouse shelter\u00a0to graduate from the\u00a0organization\u2019s\u00a0Mission Academy program. He\u00a0said\u00a0he stumbled into the\u00a0shelter\u00a0homeless and addicted to drugs. Now, he said, he\u00a0worked\u00a0as a restaurant cook\u00a0and\u00a0lived with his wife in a San Diego-area apartment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite\u00a0such\u00a0milestones,\u00a0regional leaders said\u00a0South County\u2019s network of care services\u00a0remains\u00a0a work in progress\u00a0and\u00a0is\u00a0at risk of being overwhelmed by\u00a0a rising tide of need.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bereza\u00a0said the Workforce Partnership\u2019s ongoing tracking of\u00a0regional job layoffs\u00a0shows\u00a01,000 more layoffs in the\u00a0last quarter compared to the same period last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re beginning to see job openings are starting to flatten,\u201d Bereza said.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re at\u00a0five\u00a0percent unemployment [in San Diego County], outpacing state\u00a0and federal\u00a0unemployment\u2026For job openings we have, we\u2019re receiving record numbers of applications.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bereza said\u00a032,000 people\u00a0applied to fill just 800\u00a0openings at the new Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center in Chula Vista\u00a0earlier this year. Three thousand people attended a\u00a0Gaylord\u00a0job\u00a0fair\u00a0at Southwestern College, some sleeping in their cars in a parking lot to ensure a\u00a0place in line, Bereza said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was astronomical,\u201d\u00a0she\u00a0said\u00a0of the crowd at the job fair.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aguirre\u00a0said she has long complained of\u00a0a\u00a0chronic\u00a0lack of county-provided\u00a0services\u00a0for\u00a0homeless\u00a0people\u00a0and people struggling with addiction\u00a0in South County.\u00a0One especially glaring example, she said: A\u00a0total absence\u00a0of substance\u00a0use\u00a0detox beds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aguirre said\u00a0county supervisors\u00a0recently approved\u00a0funding for 44 detox beds,\u00a0most likely located\u00a0in downtown San Diego.\u00a0But \u201cwe can do a whole lot more,\u201d Aguirre said. \u201cThere needs to be a whole continuum of care from treatment to permanent supportive housing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that we\u2019re needed now more than ever,\u201d Bereza said of\u00a0services\u00a0such as the Workforce Partnership\u2019s employment\u00a0offerings.\u00a0\u201cI want people to know we\u2019re here for them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In Other News<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\nThe Sweetwater Authority water agency\u00a0has enacted a six-month\u00a0delay\u00a0on\u00a0late fees and water shutoffs for customers\u00a0unable to pay their water bills because of the recent federal government shutdown. The authority\u2019s governing board approved the\u00a0temporary\u00a0moratorium on fees and shutoffs at its Wednesday board meeting.\u00a0\u201cSweetwater Authority remains steadfast in its commitment to serving our community with compassion and responsibility,\u201d said board chair Manny Delgado. For more information, call\u00a0619-420-1413.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Port of San Diego announced this week it has begun providing so-called onshore power to\u00a0one of the main automobile cargo ships berthed at the National City Marine Terminal. Onshore power hooks cargo ships to the mainland electrical grid, enabling ships to turn off their polluting diesel engines while loading and unloading cargo.\u00a0Pasha Automotive Services\u2019 cargo ship MV Jean Anne, which transports cars,\u00a0trucks\u00a0and heavy machinery between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii,\u00a0was the first to connect\u00a0to the port\u2019s onshore power terminal on Oct. 31. Port officials said their goal is to convert all ships to using onshore power in a bid to reduce emissions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
inewsource\u00a0has been covering\u00a0National School District\u2019s search for a new superintendent<\/a>, following current superintendent\u00a0Leighangela\u00a0Brady\u2019s recent announcement that she\u00a0plans to retire next year.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a tough job.\u00a0The small National City district faces a $16 million deficit.\u00a0<\/p>\nThe city of Chula Vista is distributing sandbags to residents in anticipation of a major winter storm forecast for the San Diego region. Residents are eligible to receive up to 10 sandbags per household.\u00a0Distribution takes\u00a0place\u00a07 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Chula Vista Public Works Facility, 1800 Maxwell Rd. Recipients must show proof of residency, such as a driver\u2019s license or utility bill.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week, several dozen dignitaries, local business leaders\u00a0and a seven-member mariachi band dressed in matching powder blue\u00a0charro suits…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":377167,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,3549,7264,34159,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-377166","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-san-diego","12":"tag-sandiego","13":"tag-south-county","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115545358123646649","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}