Pacific Beach Street Guardians are no more.
“After two-plus years of serving our community, the difficult decision has been made to close down our operation,” said Caryn Blanton, founder/director of the nonprofit formed in October 2016 to beautify Pacific Beach. “Our mission to connect housed and unhoused neighbors through transitional employment, education and service opportunities has taken on many shapes over these years. We’ve made significant impact regarding homelessness,” Blanton said. “To date, 35 people have come through PBSG, and 15 of them have gone on to permanent housing and/or employment. This is something we can all be proud of. We did it together.”
During their stint, the guardians were an integral part of community cleanup efforts by Discover PB, the community’s business improvement district. Discover PB’s executive director, Sara Berns, said the guardians will be tough to replace.
“We want to extend our most sincere appreciation for the partnership to the PBSG leadership, staff, and most importantly, the dedicated street team members who beautified our business district daily,” said Berns.
What happens next? 
“Discover PB board will convene to assess our options as it relates to continuing the maintenance and upkeep of our business district as this is our first priority,” Berns said. “The Pacific Beach Clean and Safe Pilot Program has made incredible strides in the last two years, and although we are saddened by this news, we see this as only the beginning of a new chapter for our program.”
Added Berns, “We would like to thank our amazing supporters and partners for believing in the Clean and Safe Program and providing the needed capital to bring about the change Discover PB envisioned.”
At a May 3, 2018 press conference, then-Councilmember Lorie Zapf of District 2 presented Berns and Discover PB a $25,000 check to continue the Clean and Safe Program, which employed the PB Street Guardians. Clean and Safe debuted as a year-long pilot to provide traditional cleaning and security to enhance existing City services. It furnished the tools and personnel to benefit the entire community, especially its transient population. Zapf noted the novel program employed 29 homeless to collect 250 tons of trash while removing 12 tons of litter from PB streets. 
Blanton and the Guardians are both “grateful to those in our community who have been champions to us, who have encouraged us, hired us and shown deep compassion and care.” She added there are presently seven responsible, proven PBSG team members now looking for work within the beach community.
“We are committed to finishing our work through March 15,” noted Blanton. “So when you see our team members out there, be sure to show your appreciation. As we work through this time of transition, please feel free to reach out to me, personally – I’m happy to have a more detailed conversation or answer any questions.”
Blanton can be reached at [email protected].
Blanton added: “As eyes have been opened to some difficult truths, positive and lasting change will continue to happen in PB. Let’s continue to be an example of what community is all about.”