Justice Everett
When COVID-19 prompted the first shutdown orders in San Diego, Justice Everett said he lost his job and his income. The barber has been homeless ever since.
But he’s not alone. Rocky, a chihuahua and rat terrier mix, keeps him company inside the San Diego Convention Center, a makeshift solution to provide safe shelter for homeless people during the pandemic.
Everett said he had an RV for the first few months of the pandemic, but it broke down and he didn’t have the money to fix it. He said he fit everything he could into a shopping cart and started walking.
At Pacific Beach, a popular tourist destination, he said his backpack with his ID was stolen so he can’t apply for a job. Everett said the city’s police outreach team referred him to the convention center because many shelters won’t accept people with pets.
Rocky has a hurt leg, so Everett carries him. Life on the streets is hard with a four-legged friend, but Everett said it’d be harder without him.
“He came from a really bad home and he was abused. And I said, ‘I'm going to take care of you buddy,’ “ Everett said. “So I'm going to do that. I'm gonna honor that promise.”
Everett doesn’t know where he’ll go when the convention center loses its funding in December, but for now he’s glad to be out of the cold.
