Miss Smith, who is wheelchair bound, and Elizabeth Singletary talk about their lives after being displaced from the homeless encampment off of Crosier Street in Akron on Friday, April 4, 2025.
San Diego, California – Twelve people have died at San Diego’s two Safe Sleeping sites for the homeless since their inception in 2023, raising renewed questions about the city’s approach to unsheltered homelessness and the limitations of its “low-barrier” model.
The first death to draw public attention occurred last year, when fellow campers discovered Ralph Threatt’s body in his tent at the Safe Sleeping site on 26th Street and Pershing Drive. His remains were only found after the scent of decomposition caught someone’s attention. An autopsy confirmed he died from an accidental overdose. A second overdose death occurred later that year.
Since then, ten additional people have died at the city’s Safe Sleeping sites—located at the edge of Balboa Park and in Golden Hill—though the county medical examiner’s office has not disclosed the causes of those deaths.
The Safe Sleeping program was introduced as an alternative to unsheltered street living, aiming to provide basic stability through tents, security, sanitation, and connections to services. The model prioritizes accessibility over strict compliance, allowing individuals with substance use disorders to stay—though drugs and alcohol are officially prohibited on site.
City officials have emphasized that the program’s openness is intentional. “The majority of those participating were previously in areas not meant for human habitation,” said city spokesperson Matt Hoffman. “Programs like Safe Sleeping are designed to get people off the streets and connected to help.”
Still, participants express mixed feelings about whether the sites are genuinely safe. Charles Hunt, who previously stayed at a Safe Sleeping location, described conditions as so bleak that life on the streets seemed preferable.
Others see the sites as necessary, if imperfect. Matt Collins, who became homeless after losing everything to a gambling addiction, said the relative security of the sites outweighed the risks he associated with street living. “I wouldn’t know who was going to rob me,” he said, reflecting on his time unsheltered.
Yet concerns persist. John Borja, who knew one of the recently deceased, reflected on the quiet tragedy of her passing. “Poor Tammy just passed away a couple days ago,” he said. “Such a good person she is. I like her personality. And that’s the last time I saw her.”
According to Hoffman, nearly 500 homeless individuals died in San Diego County last year. The city argues that the Safe Sleeping sites are an effort to reduce that grim toll. But the deaths within the program itself suggest that for many, simply offering a sanctioned place to sleep is not enough.
