ESCONDIDO — City officials say conditions have improved around Interfaith Community Services’ headquarters following new requirements added to the nonprofit’s conditional use permit earlier this year.
In January, the City Council approved updates to the permit that allows the organization to serve the city’s homeless population. Interfaith has operated at 550 W. Washington Avenue for 23 years, offering transitional housing, emergency shelter, withdrawal management and related services.
The changes stemmed from an investigation by the Escondido Police Department’s Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving Unit, which found Interfaith among the city’s top 20 locations for service calls. The probe also cited 30 violations in recent years, including loitering and littering near the facility.
The city and Interfaith collaborated on solutions, which included annual reporting, a public right-of-way mitigation plan, enhanced security measures, and a new operations management plan. The permit also restricted sack lunch distributions to breakfast hours and required tracking to determine whether lunches contributed to litter.
Interfaith was asked to return in six months to report progress. CEO Greg Anglea told the City Council on Aug. 20 that the nonprofit now conducts hourly perimeter checks, with two staff members present during open hours and overnight exterior checks.
Interfaith also added staff to register clients at morning meals while connecting them to other services. Anglea said limiting sack lunches to breakfast has “dramatically reduced foot traffic.”
The lunches now feature a logo reminding recipients to dispose of trash properly.
“All the people we serve understand that they cannot litter or camp within 200 yards of campus,” Anglea said, adding that clients who fail to comply are suspended from services.
The nonprofit has organized two community cleanups since March, and of 811 clients who registered for meals, 443 have enrolled in additional programs. Interfaith also provides rental and housing support, senior services, tax help and employment assistance.
“It’s super important to realize that we have less people in and around our campus who are unsheltered because people who are unsheltered have engaged with us and understand that to continue services, that’s not a place that they’re allowed to stay,” Anglea said. “It shows the respect they have for the services that we provide and shows the result of treating them with dignity and compassion.
“We know there’s a lot of work to do, but as we create those places for people to go and we work with them directly, we’ll be able to further drive down the number of people experiencing homelessness here in Escondido.”
Anglea said businesses have complimented Interfaith on its efforts.
Mayor Dane White said he was pleased with the progress.
“I know some of our demands were a bit of a tall order, and I appreciate you following through on every single one of those,” he said, adding that he has not received complaints from businesses about loitering or trash since the changes.
Councilmember Judy Fitzgerald also praised the nonprofit.
“I think you’ve done a phenomenal job in tracking and reporting, and I really appreciate it. It’s great to see such a good success rate,” she said.
In February, the City Council approved an expansion of Interfaith’s withdrawal management services, which has since helped more people get sober. Nearly 200 individuals have gone through targeted substance use screenings, with about 140 entering a 90-day residential program.
Of those, 72 completed treatment and moved into long-term recovery. Two returned to homelessness in Escondido, while seven left for unknown locations.
Some council members had previously expressed concern that the program would attract people from other communities. Anglea said those clients were given transportation back to their areas of origin.
He credited the city’s support with enabling same-day admissions.
“No longer is it, ‘Great that you want help, can you come back next week?’ – we can always do same-day admissions,” Anglea said. “It’s an absolute game changer.”
