With homelessness reaching epidemic proportions, Jordan Beane talks with Simon Mainwaring about morality, solutions and hope. Since arriving in Pacific Beach seven years ago, Father Mainwaring has become more and more involved in helping out the unsheltered community here in San Diego. From weekly dinners to coalition-building, Mainwaring is doing his part in this fight against San Diego's rising homeless epidemic. In their conversation, Jordan and Simon talk about the who those living on the streets are, what they're looking for and how to give the help they need. They discuss Simon's background (4:47), his experience with homelessness in San Diego (5:45), where he believes the homelessness population comes from (7:21), who our unsheltered neighbors really are (10:34), policies that might help get people off the street (13:29), responding to those who may see the church's weekly dinners as creating an environment to permit homelessness (17:48) and finally how to provide hope to those living on the street (21:27). All in all this is episode that digs into one of the biggest issues that San Diego is facing today with someone on the front lines. The episode begins with Jordan (0:19) discussing the recent public hearings about the budget and why it was so good to be a part of an engaged citizenry on May 15th, when people made sure to get out and let their voice be heard when it came to what they thought was important to preserve in the city's upcoming budget. To learn more about Simon, check out his biography and blog. For more on Jordan, make sure to follow him on a variety of social media accounts. He's on Twitter (@jordanbeane_SD), Instagram (@jordanbeaneSD) and Facebook (facebook.com/jordanbeanesd).
