A Group of San Diegans Come Together to Fix the Root Cause of Homelessness | George Mullen | Jon Lutack

California Insider

“The homeless situation in San Diego is no longer just homelessness. It’s like a cancer that has completely taken over our streets and parks. It seems like anywhere you go, where you might have once seen one or two homeless people, is now a village,” says Jon Lutack.

San Diego County offers a wide range of housing solutions and programs to help those suffering from homelessness or on the verge of losing their homes. But despite all of these efforts, the homeless population continues to grow. Today, we sit down with George Mullen, who co-created Sunbreak Ranch, a new approach to homelessness that has gained significant backing from both citizens and politicians in San Diego. We also discuss this issue with Mr. Lutack for an insider’s view of what it was like living on the streets, the unnecessary steps it took to turn his life around, and his influence as a substance abuse counselor.

“If we look at what’s been going on, the cities just want to put a band-aid on the problem, doing the same thing. In 2019, 165 homeless persons died in the San Diego region. In 2023, a mere four years later, 624 homeless persons died in the San Diego region. That’s a 280 percent increase in four years,” says Mr. Mullen.

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