A revered longtime North County neighbor, the Community Resource Center (CRC) provides meals and other services to senior citizens, low-income families, and others who need a helping hand, but its downtown Encinitas location has attracted critics recently because of expansion plans on the coveted real estate it occupies along 2nd Street between Hwy. 101 and the Pacific coastline. 

The CRC does the preventative work that’s difficult to measure but so important, because the CRC is often the one thing helping people avoid homelessness. While the CRC does serve more than 600 clients a month, only a handful are homeless and only a fraction of those folks visit the center daily. But that’s certainly not the picture some of the CRC’s critics paint, mostly through anonymous social media accounts that have occasionally crossed the line. One animated post depicted homeless people as rats, and the CRC as a giant hand throwing crumbs to the rats. Others claimed the CRC advertises at trolley stops across San Diego, which is not true.

Although largely anonymous, some downtown neighbors have openly joined the calls for reform. The criticism has generated headlines, debate at City Hall, and strong rebukes from the CRC’s CEO, John Van Cleef, and the army of volunteers and supporters who hold the organization in high regard because of the help and hope it provides Encinitas residents.

Tony and Juan sit down with John to unpack all of it. They also dig into who John is away from the office, what motivates him, and why he has devoted his life to helping others. 

“I enjoy helping people. It's kind of how I'm knit together – to do vocation,” John says on the podcast. “Along the way, you know, my own life journey, I realized being connected in a community-based nonprofit was a really good fit for me. Being in a place that's inclusive of everybody's journey and everybody's life story was a great fit for me. And so, you know, that became my path through Palomar Health to the YMCA…and when I came to CRC, I felt like I was home.”

Tune in now to check out this timely and  informative episode of Dear San Diego.

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