I spent some time on the streets in
San Diego, it was the first place I went
to when I split. There isn't too much legitamate work out there for teen
runaways without ID. However, here are
a few places where I stayed/worked that
you might want to check out.
There were several Born Again Christian
Missions that fed, housed, and provided
showers & laundrey services to the
homeless. I frequented these places
myself, both were located within several
blocks from the trolly stop at Imperial
& 12th Street, Downtown San Diego. One
that I remember by name was called
"Saint Vincent Depaul Mission"
(located somewhere off of 11th Street).
The other place, I can't remember by name,
but it was located across the street from
the police impound lot, at the corner of
J & 11th Street.
A LOT of homeless people (myself included)
slept at night on the side walks outside
of the J & 11th mission due to its
proximity to the Police impound lot. It
was one of the safest places for a street
people in San Diego to sleep.
So you may want to cruise by there and
take a quick look at whose sleeping
there at night. Just be careful not to
wake up the wrong person (some of those
bums can get pretty bitchy).
The best time to check St. Vincent Depaul
(if it still exists) would be on weekday mornings around 7:00-7:30 AM....as this
is when the soup lines were open for
breakfast.
The other mission on J & 11th street
served dinner to the homeless on weeknights
at 8:00PM. Anyone who wanted to eat was required to attend a mandatory church
sermon from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM. This would
also be a good time to go look for your son.
I don't know if your son has problems with
hard drugs, but if he is or might be using,
then the best place to look for him is
Balboa Park right outside of Downtown
San Diego. If you do look for him there,
do so only during the daytime!!! The
area is frequented by gangbangers at
night, even the cops won't go there
after dark!!! If you do go there (during
the daytime only) it wouldn't hurt to
bring a friend (just in case).
There were also several blocks of CRACK
houses in the neighborhood of Imperial &
25th Street. If your son is using, then
he may frequent these houses, and could
possibly be living in one of the alleyways behind them, as many junkies do. Do not
go looking for him there alone, bring a
friend, or better yet several. Under no circumstances should you ever attempt to
enter a crack house, even if your son is
in there!!! Call the cops to get him for
you.
As for places where your son might find employment, check out all of the fruit
warehouses in and around the city, as
these places typically employ illegal
aliens (under the table of course). It's
one place where a teen runaway could most
likely find a job in San Diego.
Also when I was in San Diego, every
morning around 6:30-7:00 delivery vans
would pull up in front of the 2 missions
that I mentioned, and would recruit/pick
up homeless people to deliver newspapers
or pass out flyers for the day. typical
pay was between $15.00-$20.00 per day to
deliver 1000 papers/flyers. This was
guaranteed work, and us regulars were at
the pick up points every weekday morning promptly at 6:30 AM.
Also, ticket scalpers tend to recruit
the homeless and send them to stadium
box offices to buy tickets for major
concerts and sporting events on opening
day (of ticket sales). What the scalpers
would do is come to the missions with a
couple vans and pick up 20 to 30 homeless
and drive them to the stadium. The
scalpers would give every bum $150-$200.00
and had us wait at the box office gate.
The second the gates open, the bums would
rush to the box office and buy as many
first 10 rows tickets that we could and
then take them back to the scalpers.
The whole process lasts about an hour,
and the scalpers usually paid each bum
around $20.00-$30.00 each.
This was easy work, and the scalpers
liked using the same people over again, so if they felt that they could trust you,
it meant repeat work.
You might want to check and see if any
big concerts/shows are coming to town.
If so show up at the stadium box office
on opening day, a few minutes before the
gates open. Opening day for concert
ticket sales is almost always on a Saturday.
If your son works for these people like I
did, then there is a chance that you will
run into him.
I wish I could be more help, but I was
on the streets of San Diego 12 years ago,
my memory of that time is dim, and
I don't know how relevant my experience
is with what the homeless are doing for
money these days.
The only other things I can suggest are:
1. check the blood banks ( it's a big longshot) as this is a tried and true place where all homeless can go and make a quick buck.
2. check out the "OLD Village" section of down town San Diego(it's on the water) during the weekends (especially friday & saturday nights).
As this area is packed with rich tourists and
is a favorite target for Pan Handlers/Beggars.
My heart goes out to you Wayne. Please know that I am praying for the safe return of your son.
.[ This Message was edited by: SON OF SERBIA on 2005-01-12 14:22 ]
