SLO police, work crews dismantle homeless community along Bob Jones Trail
San Luis Obispo police, park rangers and a hauling company dismantled a homeless encampment on the Bob Jones Trail near Prado Road Monday morning, where dozens of people have lived on and off for years.
Residents who were present were told to place personal belongings they couldn’t carry into a bin to be stored on city property for later retrieval. Remaining items — tents, tarps and garbage — were cleared out by workers with a hauling company called 2 Mexicans.
For many, the disruption to the community encampment was devastating and traumatic.
“I’m saddened by what I see here,” said Suzanne York, 40, who said she’s regularly experienced homelessness since she was 18. “I’ve known all these people for a long time. A lot of these people used to baby-sit me.”
Police watched as men and women sorted through all of their belongings, processing what to keep and what to entrust the city to store. Those who filled bins with items like toasters, sleeping bags, and camp stoves were given a receipt with a contents list.
Throughout the morning, men with 2 Mexicans did the hard labor of tearing out camps and dragging materials up the river bank and into the company’s hauling truck. Police stood by.
Residents given 72 hours notice
The action to clear out the camp wasn’t a surprise for most.
Residents in the area were given a notice on Friday to clear out within 72 hours. And, social workers with Transitions Mental Health Association worked within the community each day for at least the last week to connect people with services, issuing referrals for mental health services, drug and alcohol treatment, and housing, according to John Klevins, who provides homeless services outreach on the Community Action Team with the San Luis Obispo Police Department.
Klevins said the city also has a family reunification project that helps residents receive services and then connect with family members, even if they live across the country.
The sweep came while the city and county remain under a shelter-at-home order for COVID-19.
When asked about the timing, deputy city manager Greg Hermann said “the city was responding to the significant health and safety concerns present at the camp adjacent to Bob Jones trail and San Luis Creek.”
Specifically, he said, the city is concerned with human waste, trash, needles and drug paraphernalia, and illegal fires.
He said there are “great resources available in our community” and city officials want to get people housed with access to medical and social services.
Residents of the homeless camp were directed to stay at 40 Prado, the homeless services shelter located less than a block away. Several residents were already there by afternoon, Hermann said.
“We made sure that every single person there has a space available at 40 Prado. That’s a facility designed for their needs and has mental health and housing services,” Hermann said.
That’s not an option everyone will choose.
Looking for hope, services and a place to sleep
For the last five years Robert Worthington has lived by the creek. He’s a veteran of the U.S. Army, where he worked as a parachute rigger.
“I’d leave this state if possible,” Worthington said. “I’m a disabled vet and came out here for the weather. I have no credit, I can’t rent. I’ve tried and tried. I’m 100% disabled. I need to lay down many times during the day. There (at Prado), you can’t lay down during the day.”
When asked where he’ll sleep tonight, he said, “I don’t know. I’ll find somebody with a camp probably already set up and they’ll let me hang out.”
John Jefferson, 47, wore a Desert Storm veteran hat as he watched officials survey his belongings piled in a grocery cart.
He used to go to the 40 Prado shelter, he said, until his friend died and left him a dog. The dog, he said, wasn’t used to being caged and tore up the kennel at the shelter so he had to leave.
Veterans Services does as much for him as they can, he said, and he’s received housing assistance in the past.
“I’m still waiting for them to find something to fit my needs and fit my budget,” Jefferson said. He is mobility impaired and can’t walk up stairs.
City officials told The Tribune that even if residents had been on probation from 40 Prado in the past, they would be allowed to go back to the shelter.
That was Susannah Walker’s plan. Walker, 57, said she has been homeless since 2005.
“What brought me out of my home was domestic violence and stalking,” she told The Tribune after sorting through her belongings, a process she said was difficult because of her OCD and PTSD.
She said she’s generally been treated with respect when she’s sought services, but that’s not everyone’s experience.
“Some have been treated bad because of the way they look or act. Some people were raised in a family of criminals,” she said. “People are dealing with a variety of issues. Some people don’t want to be told what to do.”
Ben de Liema said he is ready to move forward with services.
A concrete construction worker, he said he’s been homeless for about two and half years because wages just didn’t keep up with the cost of living.
“I’m trying to find real solutions, to get out of being homeless. To get housing and employment,” said de Liema, 49.
“I’m going to go to 40 Prado in the meantime to get services. I think there is real hope for me,” he said.
According to homeless advocates with Hope’s Village, the disruption of the encampment is most harmful to women, many of whom have been sexually assaulted and find safety in groups.
“This is one of the few places in town that offers a bit of privacy, no houses or businesses around,” said Becky Jorgeson with Hope’s Village of SLO, who criticized the city’s actions as police harassment.
She said she planned to offer to pay for motel rooms Monday night for any of the women who wanted it.
This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 3:48 PM.
