Homeless people told to leave Oceanside hotel

It was checkout time Tuesday for some homeless people who have been staying at an Oceanside motel under the city’s voucher program to get people temporarily off the street.

Assistant City Manager Michael Gossman said seven people were told to leave Marty’s Valley Inn where they had been staying since April 13 because they had not been actively working on a plan to enter a rehab program, shelter or other alternative housing opportunity by the time their 21-day city voucher expired.

Hitting the 21-day mark does not mean people automatically must leave the hotel, he said. Vouchers expired for eight other people on Tuesday, but Gossman said their stay was extended because they were working with city staff members and the McAlister Institute, which is overseeing the hotel program, on finding alternative housing. Those eight included two people who were allowed to stay after they suddenly became more cooperative with case workers after receiving notices they would have to leave, he said.

The city created the voucher program last month and first used it to move about 40 people out of a large encampment alongside South Oceanside Boulevard. Oceanside officials said offering vouchers to people allows the city to enforce its ordinance against camping on public property while still complying with a federal court ruling that prohibits cities from citing people for sleeping outdoors if they have no other place to go.

Among the people told to leave Tuesday was Rodney McGough, a homeless man who organized the large encampment on South Oceanside Boulevard.

“They left a thing under my door that said I had by the next day to leave, so I’m going to be on the street again tomorrow,” he said Monday night.

McGough did move out Tuesday morning, but by that afternoon he said there had been some miscommunications and was working with an Oceanside city staff member with the possibility of moving back into the hotel that night. He returned around 5 p.m. to find a room was waiting for him.

McGough said he was frustrated with the options being presented by the city, because most were for drug or alcohol rehab programs, which he doesn’t qualify for because he’s sober.

He also said he would rather not move into a shelter, but instead would like the city to create a site where homeless people can legally and safely camp. The city of San Diego briefly operated such a camp for about 200 people on a maintenance yard in late 2017, and Santa Rosa has had some success with a safe camp site and looking to expand its program.

Gossman said Oceanside is exploring safe camping sites for homeless people, but so far has not found a suitable site.

The City Council also is considering opening a shelter at the former Oceans Shores High School and has funded the hotel voucher program for another five months.

Besides the seven people asked to leave Tuesday, Gossman said one left to move in with a relative, one entered a residential treatment program, one went into a substance abuse rehab program, four women went to the Operation Hope shelter in Vista, one entered a recuperative care program, four people were told to leave because they violated rules and two left on their own.

The program still had 31 residents as of Tuesday, and homeless outreach workers could offer vacant beds to homeless people still on the street, he said.