The homeless gathered at Sports Arena Boulevard and Rosecrans the morning of Feb. 3 scrambled to clear their personal belongings out before Alpha Project crews swept through quickly and efficiently cleansing their longstanding encampment.
Bright-vested workers methodically picked their way down the side street of the encampment feeding trash, bicycles, furniture, and countless other articles to be crushed in the maw of a garbage truck. All happened under the scrutiny of a dozen or more police officers furnishing security.
Dispossessed encampment denizens looked on as work crews largely dismantled their makeshift tent city encampment, which nearly 200 inhabitants had been calling home. Later that afternoon, a return visit to the camp found it largely denuded, remarkably cleaner, and noticeably and significantly downsized.
Dave Rolland, the City’s senior advisor of communications, said the camp cleanup’s intent was to allow City Environmental Services staff to “go through the area and clear it of waste and debris that poses a threat to public health and safety. The action was aimed at immediately remediating health hazards in the context of a sustained, long-term effort to persuade unhoused residents to move off the streets into a shelter. We have always understood – and communicated – that fully clearing the encampment will require repeated clean-up operations and continued outreach.”
Rolland pointed out a concentrated outreach effort was made once again on Feb. 3 “to connect encampment residents to shelter and services.” He added, however, that during the past three weeks “only seven people out of an estimated 183 who resided in this encampment had accepted shelter.”
Added Roland, “As long as this encampment exists, the City will continue to conduct regular cleanings like what occurred Feb. 3, and outreach teams will continue to work with residents on interventions that work for them.”
“This isn’t accomplishing anything just harassing people that are here,” argued Andrew, a Midway encampment resident who’s lived there a year. Andrew spoke about 7 a.m., a half-hour before City clean-up crews showed on Feb. 3.
Asked if clean-up crews could take their personal effects, Andrew replied: “They can do whatever they want.”
“They (City) posted a 72-hour notice for us to pack up and ship out,” said William, who added this was his “second time around” in Midway’s homeless encampment.
Regarding how he felt about the City’s cleanup effort, William responded, “It sucks. Though I can understand both sides. We gotta do what we gotta do, and they gotta do what they gotta do, right?”
What are the rules governing the taking of personal belongings?
“They’re entitled to come and grab all the stuff they can if we’re not moved out in time,” answered William, who was hurrying to get his stuff out and over to the other side of the street away from where the cleanup was occurring. “I should have done more last night,” said William. “But it is what it is. Stuff can be replaced.”
Queried as to whether he felt cleanup efforts like this were the right thing for the City to do, William replied: “Yes, and no. I mean, they’ve got their hands tied. And we are just trying to find somewhere to go. But our options are limited. So we just do the best we can.”
Of his personal circumstances, how he wound up in a homeless encampment, William lamented: “Poor choices. One thing led to another. It was just a spiraling domino effect.”
Is there a sense of community in Midway’s homeless encampment?
Answered William, “Absolutely. For the most part, all of us help each other out wherever we can, borrow and barter. A lot of people work hard for the money they make out here, doing odds and ends, cleaning stuff up, helping people out if they need something fixed, or carrying something. Any little thing.”
Two other camp residents, Michael and Andre, were clearing out their tent before cleanup work crews arrived. “There’s always a few rotten apples in the barrel,” admitted Michael. “But for the most part, the majority of our people are clean and take care of stuff.”
“We’re not out here having a ball: We’re just trying to get by,” noted Andre.
David Sten, owner of S10 Fitness at 3810 Rosecrans St., a couple of blocks from the Midway encampment, said the homeless situation is an ongoing problem that continues to worsen.
“We’re constantly having homeless issues – defecation, urination, violence, drug use, you name it,” said Sten, adding he’s frequently contacted local police, planners, and legislators trying to find solutions.
“I don’t know if there’s a good solution,” added Sten. “But I would sure like to be a part of the solution – and not the problem.”
Did Sten favor the Midway homeless encampment cleanup?
“There needs to be a solution of some sort,” he responded. “Something needs to be done because the businesses here are being really impacted by the homeless situation, and not only from the encampment.”
Sten is thankful to police who’ve been helpful in “moving homeless out of the back alleys and cleaning up.” But he added there is much work that needs to be done to repair Midway’s tarnished image from problematic homelessness.
“We’re all here trying to help the community,” Sten said. “We want Rosecrans to be a shining star for Point Loma. We would really like this place to blossom into a great part of the area. It’s just unfortunate that a lot of the homeless are shifted in this direction at times.”
What would Sten like to see happen with the Midway homeless situation?
“I’m not sure,” he said. “We need help. We’ve had these conversations a lot. The majority of them (homeless) are not interested in the help. We keep putting money toward trying to help people and they’re not accepting it. So we need to find a better solution.”
