VICTORVILLE — The city and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department evicted dozens of homeless people from their Mojave River encampments in April and May, but there is still plenty of work to do as officials grapple with the homelessness problem near the river and elsewhere in the city.
Several homeless people who had previously been ordered to leave the areas near Stoddard Wells Road and near the Shady Oasis Kampground are finding new, more hidden spots to live along the river. Meanwhile, a large amount of debris was left behind after the clear-outs earlier this spring, and the Sheriff's Department is asking for the community's help in cleaning up the mess.
Lisa and Curtis House, a couple who have been living in the riverbed for nearly 10 years, were seen near Eva Dell Park this week. The two had been living in the riverbed near the Shady Oasis Kampground west of Interstate 15 near Stoddard Wells Road, but that area was cleared out on May 18 (the first round of evictions was about a month earlier in a different part of the river). The couple said they are now sleeping in a hidden area but still storing their belongings near the park.
Victorville Code Enforcement Manager Jorge Duran said that the city and Sheriff's Department are aware of the homeless near Eva Dell Park, as well as another encampment in the area near Bear Valley Road and Balsam Avenue. He said they are working with the Sheriff's Department's Homeless Outreach and Proactive Enforcement Team "to provide them with resources and ensure they vacate the area."
Jake, a 27-year-old homeless man seen living in a field near the vacant former Wal-Mart building on Bear Valley Road near Balsam Avenue, said that the homeless people in the riverbed have mostly stayed near the river. He said that the homeless living in more urban areas do not usually mix with those in the riverbed.
"It's two totally different ways of life and ways of thinking," said Jake, who declined to give his last name.
He said that he does not think the city and the HOPE team's plan to place homeless people in housing will work because much of the homeless population does not have the skills to be in mainstream society.
"You get a regular family that lives in a dwelling, and look at how many steps it takes to get a job interview and then to keep getting up and do that same job everyday," Jake said. "Then try to take one of us and get us to do an interview and do that. It won't happen."
Victorville resident Robert Charleton lives near the encampments popping up on Balsam Avenue and said that he "is tired of it."
"They have shelters, they're bringing vehicles in, they have tarps and boxes and it's starting to look like the (encampment in the riverbed)," Charleton said. "The trash is getting ridiculous and transients are starting to walk through the neighborhood."
When the Press Dispatch visited the area on Wednesday, signs of a recent fire could be scene in charred piles of clothing and blackened vegetation.
Sheriff's HOPE Team Sgt. Rob McCoy said that the team is still working on cleaning up the riverbed and placing homeless into programs to help them get on their feet. A cleanup effort has been planned for Saturday in the riverbed areas that have been cleared west of Stoddard Wells Road and near Shady Oasis Kampground. The effort will utilize the HOPE Team and inmate work crews as well as community volunteers. Anyone interested in participating must pre-register by Thursday. For more information, call City of Victorville Environmental Programs at 760-955-8615.