Homeless camp near downtown Sacramento temporarily cleared while street curb is painted
Dozens of homeless campers were ordered to temporarily relocate from a street in Sacramento’s River District Monday morning, and some lost their belongings.
Ahern Street, between North B and North C streets, is normally home to dozens of campers. On Monday morning, officials directed campers to move while they painted the curbs red to create a fire lane.
Parking is not allowed on the section of the street, but people parked vehicles there several times in recent months to give items to the homeless, making the street largely unpassable, city spokesman Tim Swanson said.
“Officials at Fire Station 14 requested the section of street be made into a fire lane in an effort to keep the route clear and ensure the highest level of service and protection for the community,” Swanson said.
The mood was grim as dozens of men and women sat with their tents and belongings watching as a city bulldozer scooped up piles of blankets, clothing, bicycles, tents, cardboard boxes and trash from other campers who weren’t present at the time. The bulldozer loaded items into a city garbage truck.
A large teddy bear sat in a pile waiting to be scooped up. One man sat on the curb sobbing. Another man comforted him.
Brandon Jackson lost clothing, shoes, his identification card and paperwork he needs to try to find housing, he said.
“As long as we keep our areas clean and as long as there’s no fighting, nothing like that, I think they should be able to leave us alone,” Jackson said. “People that live out here, that need to stay here, don’t have nothing no more.”
Joseph Mitchell, who’s camped in the area for about five years, sat in a lawn chair watching it all unfold.
“You go somewhere else, you think it’s gonna get better, but it gets worse and worse,” Mitchell, 60, said. “We’re really down on our luck and they’re gonna give us another problem.”
Mary Ross, who’s been sleeping in the area for about a year, said she did not receive notice that police would clear out the area. She’s unsure where to go next.
“They told us we had to move stuff at the last minute,” Ross, 50, said.
Mitchell also said he did not receive notice.
Police spokesman Karl Chan said in an email, “everyone in the area was given notice that the clean up was happening today.”
Sacramento police did not issue citations, Chan said.
“Unfortunately, this is something that occurs all too often for our neighbors experiencing homelessness,” a Loaves and Fishes Facebook post read. “These sweeps contribute to the endless migration many of our guests experience.”
People will be able to resume camping after the city finishes painting, as long as they do not block the right of way on sidewalks, camp in the street, or violate other rules, Swanson said.
The so-called sweeps are occurring as the city is grappling with a rising homeless population. Volunteers on two nights in January counted more than 5,570 homeless people living in Sacramento County, mostly in the city. A city-funded shelter with services at the Capitol Park Hotel downtown has more than 100 beds available, according to the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency . Mitchell and Ross both said they did not know about the shelter or how to move in there.
Staff photographer Xavier Mascareñas contributed to this report.
This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 5:16 PM.
