In poverty himself, 'Water Man' is fearless saint of San Diego's homeless (sandiegouniontribune.com)

For openers, San Diego is fast becoming America’s Calcutta, with large tracts given over to squalor and suffering.

Homeless deaths doubled to 117 last year. A federally mandated count in January found 5,621 people living outdoors across the county, a 68 percent increase since 2007.

Then there’s Ross, who at age 83, subsisting on Social Security and nearly as poor as the homeless, has waded into San Diego’s sea of misery every day for nearly two decades to help “his people.”

Like advocates for the poor throughout history, Ross has a tendency to afflict the comfortable.

“I touch everybody,” the Water Man said. “They need the hugs. They need to know I care about them.”

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