SLO is cleaning up dozens of homeless camps near popular bike trail. Here’s how
In an effort to make the Bob Jones City to the Sea Bike Trail area safer and cleaner, city officials in San Luis Obispo will conduct a massive cleanup effort along San Luis Obispo Creek over the next several weeks in advance of winter weather.
In advance of the initiative, the city is evacuating about 70 unsheltered residents who set up 58 camps along the public trail and creek area that connects with Prado Road and Los Osos Valley Road.
The city held an outreach event Wednesday that helped connect homeless people with services and support as they’re moved away from their makeshift camps.
The support and outreach event, attended by 32 homeless people on Wednesday, included a visit to the site from a host of local nonprofit organizations and agencies, including Transitions-Mental Health Association, 40 Prado Homeless Services Center and Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County.
San Luis Obispo County’s Department of Social Services and the San Luis Obispo Police Department’s Community Action Team (CAT) also participated in the event, which included referral to food programs and assistance with health and mental health services.
“We’re doing this for a variety of reasons,” said Ryan Betz, San Luis Obispo’s assistant to the city manager. “The winter season is coming and we traditionally do cleanups around this time to prevent contamination of waste from washing downstream. We’ve also concerned with fire danger with illegal camp fires that we’ve seen recently in the area.”
Additionally, Betz said the city is concerned about the general lack of sanitation near the Bob Jones trail as well as water quality, local wildlife and wetland restorations.
SLO homeless camps found near Bob Jones bike trail
A walk along the stretch of the Bob Jones trail on Wednesday revealed mounds of trash and abandoned belongings, including shopping carts, clothes, pizza boxes and empty food cans.
John Klevins, a San Luis Obispo social worker who is a member of the CAT team, said that many of the homeless encampments have moved toward San Luis Obispo Creek into the bushes and are directly in the path of where the creek would flow after rains, running down to Avila Beach.
“You can see here two (hypodermic) needles that are probably used for meth,” Klevins said as he inspected a campsite Wednesday, pointing out a large pile of debris. “Meth and heroin are the two drugs of choice, but meth is cheaper and often the one used. Often, prostitution and drug use takes place down here. Sexual favors are offered in exchange for drugs.”
A January 2019 count revealed that San Luis Obispo has 482 homeless residents within the city limits, though Klevins said that number often fluctuates.
“I came out here for awhile,” said Darcene Clayton, 66, who resides along the Bob Jones trail. “I didn’t expect to stay quite so long. But I’m now on services that John (Klevins) hooked me up with to get me into an apartment, to get me into some place. ... I have a broken hip. I have asthma. I have other medical concerns.”
“I understand rightfully so how upset they can be with us, the garbage,” Clayton said. “The kids can’t come play down here in the trees and stuff like that. ... We are trying to do something about it. We are policing our own.”
In recent months, large groups of homeless people have gathered at Mitchell Park in downtown San Luis Obispo, and Mayor Heidi Harmon requested the city conduct outreach, and coordinate with county resources, to see what could be done to ensure safety and services.
Over the summer, a member of the public shared with The Tribune an image of trash and belongings strewn across the Chinese-themed statues and architecture, creating an “eyesore.”
Shelly Stanwyck, assistant city manager for community services, said that there have been two deaths in recent years from flooding as well as multiple swift water locations along the Bob Jones trail location.
On Oct. 8, a person was found dead at a homeless encampment near the Bob Jones trail.
Stanwyck said there have also been break-ins at city facilities near the Bob Jones trail, and the city wants to avoid potential hazards to those who trespass.
“We know that there is enough room in the shelters at 40 Prado, ECHO (El Camino Homeless Organization in Atascadero), and at Good Samaritan (Shelter in Santa Maria) for people to stay,” Stanwyck said. “There is availability and we want people to know they have a place to go, and different jurisdictions are working together regionally to help people, because we know people come and go from different communities.”
Homeless people who have cars also can use the 40 Prado Safe Parking area in San Luis Obispo to sleep in their vehicles overnight.
City plans to clean up trash, biohazards
The city of San Luis Obispo spends more than $1 million per year on services and costs related to the homeless, but it doesn’t have a social services department dedicated to a broad scope of programs.
Stanwyck said the city, however, coordinates closely with the county on addressing homeless needs within the city’s jurisdiction.
“Currently, there’s discussion at the county level of finding a location that could serve as a camp or a place that’s not a true shelter, for homeless,” Stanwyck said. “Not everyone wants to stay in a shelter and that location could serve people from around the county who need a place to stay or camp, as well as shower and have access to utilities.”
No specific location has been identified yet, Stanwyck said. Stanwyck said the county and local cities will begin addressing long-range solutions to address homelessness in January.
The city’s CAT is offering to arrange family reunifications, and the team has connected more than 25 people experiencing homeless to family over the past year.
Klevins said that he’s not aware of any outbreak of COVID-19 within the local homeless community. At 40 Prado, where coronavirus tests are conducted daily, he said there have only been two positive results.
Near the Bob Jones trail, the cleanup of trash, biohazards and abandoned materials at homeless camps will take place over the next several weeks.
The Bob Jones trail will be closed to public use during that time as well as the adjacent open space and wetland, so “nature can heal,” San Luis Obispo officials said in a news release.
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