Unhoused man arrested as SLO police clear Prado Road encampment. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’
Another tense scene unfolded Monday in San Luis Obispo as a homeless man was arrested and others were ordered out from a city roadway, just a couple of weeks after some of the same people were told to leave the Bob Jones Trail.
About 12:15 p.m., Carl “Red” Caslin was arrested on suspicion of illegal lodging after he refused to leave the Access Road shoulder near Prado Road, near the 40 Prado shelter.
Caslin was one of a group of several campers ordered to leave the Bob Jones Trail area earlier this month due to an ongoing fencing and fire hazard reduction project.
On Monday, houseless community members again lobbied police to be able to stay in makeshift camps — decrying what they say is a lack of low-income housing resources.
Caslin said he has stayed in the nearby 40 Prado shelter before, but was kicked out due to alleged stealing (which he denies) so he won’t go back to the facility.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Caslin said from a seat along the road. “I have a right to be here. I’ve been in the U.S. my whole life and this is public property. I’m not going.”
He was handcuffed by police and escorted into the back of a San Luis Obispo Police Department vehicle, charged with a misdemeanor.
Sgt. Bryan Treanor told The Tribune that Caslin, along with the others, had multiple warnings to clear out in recent days because they were creating a right-of-way and traffic safety concern.
“We have one arrest out of all the people that are out here, the one who refused to leave the property,” Treanor said. “So he was cited and released down at our station.”
Treanor added: “It’s very dangerous for these residents to be this close to the street. We’ve had a lot of complaints from the (nearby) plant in the back, and then also the construction site over the last few weeks. And then we came out and posted after that.”
Unhoused, advocates and city divided about use of public space
Homeless individuals and advocates say that the unhoused population is being forced out of public space unjustly.
One homeless camper described the city’s measures as a game of “Whac-a-Mole.”
“Basically, they just move us from one spot to another, and now people are scattered all around,” said Dave Motley, who was forced to leave the roadway Monday. “They’re just going to go somewhere else for a couple of months and then get kicked out of that spot.”
But city officials say they’re trying to maintain safety — and that services and shelter options are provided to people who are willing to accept them. Some have accepted, others haven’t, city officials say.
“We’re trying to exhaust all of the options, from hotel rooms and family reunification to volunteer hostings and homeless shelters,” said Kelsey Nocket, SLO’s homeless response manager. “It’s nuanced and there’s no one-size-fits-all.”
The group cleared Monday had set up tents, tables and cookware, lining possessions on a strip of unpaved space by the road.
Not far away, the city cleared encampments out the Bianchi Open Space near San Luis Obispo Creek due to a fire hazard reduction project.
Along with police, the 2 Mexicans junk removal business arrived and helped houseless residents clear the space, including trash.
Lawsuit claims camp clear outs ‘criminalize the homeless’
Becky Jorgeson, founder of the nonprofit Hope’s Village that provides showers, food, clothing and vehicle donations to the unhoused, called the city’s response “pathetic.”
“It’s unconscionable what they’re doing,” Jorgeson said Monday. “The city will say there are places to go, but in reality there aren’t enough places. These people are already anxious to begin with after being moved off the Bob Jones Trail. Now, city keeps harassing them and giving them tickets.”
Jorgeson, along with a group of unhoused plaintiffs, has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the city is “criminalizing the homeless” and clearing out encampments without providing sufficient shelter space.
The plaintiffs cite a federal case precedent (Martin v. Boise) that prohibits anti-camping policy if a community’s options for shelter were insufficient.
In response, city officials say they’ve spent millions of dollars on innovative solutions to address homelessness, and asserts its right to “set time, place, and manner regulations that govern where, when and how homeless individuals may occupy public property.”
The city — which has filed a motion to dismiss the case that’s pending — has properly enforced rules around overnight use of parks, as well as creek and trail areas, and fines it has issued have been in line with laws and aren’t overly excessive, San Luis Obispo officials said in the lawsuit.
SLO city pursuing new options to help homelessness
Nocket said case managers are aware of the different programs that could potentially fund a hotel stay, among its host of response strategies.
“Family reunification is something that we work on pretty heavily,” Nocket said. “So, if somebody wants transportation to go stay with a family member, we’re happy to facilitate that by paying for the transportation. We’ve done that in the past with some level of success.”
Nocket said the city won’t authorize sanctioned camps for the unhoused, citing the potential for illegal fires and rodent infestations seen in camps set up elsewhere.
Nocket said SLO is exploring the idea of a tiny home village, a concept that has been adopted in Los Angeles, but wants to make it part of a broader regional strategy if it’s deemed appropriate.
“I think from the city perspective, we’re looking to the county to really direct the overall direction that we want to go in with tiny home options and alternative shelter,” Nocket said. “And then the cities can then plug into that strategy with inputs, like tiny homes or all kinds of other options. Those are on the table absolutely.”
Nocket said the county’s update to its 10-year plan to end homelessness is ongoing, which could also lead to new long-term solutions, along with advancing supportive housing and permanent affordable housing programs.
The city has also expanded its Community Action Team which combines police and social service outreach, and is expanding its mobile crisis unit as well, which involves medics who are available for emergency response.
‘What about a place for us?’ Unhoused residents say city hasn’t done enough
Renee Askew, 55, has been unhoused in SLO for the past three years after moving from North Carolina where a natural disaster ruined her home, she said.
“Mental health problems in general are a big reason why a lot of people live out here on the streets,” Askew said. “They self-medicate. They do drugs that are way harder than the old days. They drink. But that’s a symptom of the bigger problem, mental illness.”
Askew said when they’re forced to uproot their makeshift homes, it’s agitating, noting that she was scared when a man who was camping nearby thought he’d been robbed.
“He was demanding to know where his torch was,” Askew said. “I told him I had no idea what he was talking about.”
Askew said that she has stayed in shelters, but it can feel claustrophobic and like freedom is being taken away because she can’t come and go at will at night (those who shelter at 40 Prado must stay inside overnight).
Another unhoused man, Mark Rosinksi, has received multiple citations, including possession of drug paraphernalia and illegal camping.
“I have stayed in 40 Prado before,” Rosinki said. “But they wouldn’t let me recently because I refused a COVID test.”
Rosinki believes that with the same money proposed for a new police station, a homeless housing facility could be built.
“The cops want to build a fancy new police station,” he said. “What about a place for us?”
City officials have pointed to a California law, Article 34, requiring that voters approve a ballot measure before public housing is built in a community.
As it relates to services, city officials say the county’s social services department is much better equipped and better funded to handle homeless response than the city is able to.
Nocket said the point-in-time count, organized by the county in conjunction with homeless service partners, is scheduled for Feb. 23, which will assess the overall size of the local unhoused population. A previously scheduled count this week was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.
This story was originally published January 24, 2022 at 7:15 PM.
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