As a part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was established in 1965 and is “responsible for national policy and programs that address America’s housing needs, that improve and develop the Nation’s communities, and enforce fair housing laws,” as explained on HUD’s website. Part of these responsibilities include providing services to the country’s growing homeless population. In 2018, it was estimated that nearly a half a million people were in a state of homelessness on a given night. In other words, out of every 10,000 people living in America, 17 of them were without shelter. The largest homeless populations are found in New York City, Los Angeles, and Seattle.

Each year HUD sets aside one night to count a city’s homeless population. This is called the Point-in-Time Count (PIT) and it is held one night every January. This count is necessary for HUD to be able to provide the proper funding for communities to aid those who are homeless. The count is done mostly by volunteers and occurs in the predawn hours. This time is chosen as most of the people being counted will still be asleep making it easier to count them and safer for the volunteers doing the counting. But the system has inherent problems. It is inevitable that some people are missed as they can often be hard to find. Last year in San Diego, the city with the nation’s 4th largest homeless problem, there was a lot of confusion with the PIT Count which led to a decrease in funding from HUD.

This year to prevent any confusion the San Diego Regional Task Force on the Homeless used drones to help conduct the the PIT Count. As the second largest city in San Diego County, the Chula Vista Police Department (CVPD) has been on the forefront of police drone operations. In 2015, the CVPD formed an Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Committee to study how drones could be used for public safety. In 2018 the FAA launched the UAS Integration Pilot Program to test public safety protocols with drones by police departments. The CVPD was granted one of the 10 spots available for this program. “We are incredibly proud of the program, because we think we have developed a new paradigm in policing,” said CVPD Capt. Vern Sallee. “I think you are only going to see drone use expand.” They officially began using a single drone in October of 2018 and within one year the CVPD had run over 1,000 successful drone missions, the first in the country to reach this milestone under the FAA’s program.

Since then the CVPD has acquired an additional 3 drones and operates out of 2 launch sites. The department uses DJI Matrice 210 V2 drones, known for their superior ease of flight and HD camera with both thermal and visual optics. The CVPD’s first drone launch site was from the roof of their headquarters. This past August they were granted permission by Paradise Valley Hospital and Rush Properties to establish a second launch site 2 miles south of the department headquarters, providing them with a broader range of coverage over the city. On the CVPD’s website explaining their drone program it says, “Chief Roxana Kennedy has called DFR one her most important tools in improving situational awareness, de-escalating dangerous situations, and protecting her officers and community.”

That is why the San Diego Regional Task Force on the Homeless turned to the CVPD to help them on PIT night. CVPD’s Sheriff’s Lt. Fran Passalacqua was tasked with orchestrating the drone portion of the count and said, “We thought this was a great opportunity,” in regards to furthering their drone program and helping the citizens of the city. She said that a large portion of the city’s homeless population resides in Lakeside along the San Diego River. In the past many of the people using this area for temporary shelter have gone uncounted. With the use of the drone’s thermal imaging camera she hopes to assist the count greatly. Even if people are sleeping and are out of sight from a regular camera or volunteers, the thermal camera will pick up their heat signature.

Even though San Diego has the 4th highest homeless population in the country, due to faulty PIT Counts they ranked only 20th in funding from HUD. “The east region is severely lacking in resources for those who are homeless,” Passalacqua said. “If we don’t get an accurate count, how can we get resources? We do not have any shelters. We don’t have a Father Joe’s or Alpha Project.” Tamera Kohler, CEO of the San Diego Regional Task Force on the Homeless and Sheriff’s Lt. Fran Passalacqua are hopeful that with the assistance of thermal equipped drones and the nearly 700 volunteers helping to count San Diego’s homeless population, a more accurate picture of the city’s homelessness will be achieved. The ultimate goal is to provide HUD with information so that San Diego county can receive the proper funding and resources to protect those out of home.

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