A Sept. 5 death at one of the city of San Diego’s Safe Sleeping sites in Balboa Park was the fourth this year and 21st since the program for unsheltered people opened more than three years ago.
While the city confirmed the death, it did not provide details, referring questions to the San Diego County Medical Examiner. That office has not responded to questions asking for information on the death.
The death occurred at a tent at O Lot, near Park Boulevard and Wieber Avenue. The site can accommodate up to 581 tents for individuals, couples and households. The city operates a second, smaller site with 186 tents at 26th Street and Pershing Drive.
Three more deaths were recorded in a roughly one-month span in June and July, records show. All three were related to drug use, according to autopsy records from the Medical Examiner.
On June 4, a 39-year-old man was found dead in his tent. The cause was an accidental overdose of methamphetamine.
Three weeks later on June 25, a 45-year-old woman was found in her tent. The cause of death was an aneurysm with methamphetamine toxicity and hypertension as contributing factors, the Medical Examiner concluded.
A 56-year-old man died July 6 from an accidental overdose of fentanyl, methamphetamine and PCP.
All four deaths this year occurred at O Lot. Of the 21 total deaths since the sites opened, 15 have happened at O Lot, according to city data.
O Lot is managed under contracts with the city by both by the Downtown San Diego Partnership and Dreams for Change.
Since opening in June 2023, some 3,718 people have been served at the sites with 437 eventually finding permanent or other long-term housing, according to Matt Hoffman, a spokesperson for the city.