A homelessness advocacy group in San Luis Obispo County is hoping to bring changes to how cleanups of encampments are being handled in the City of San Luis Obispo.
“I've been devastated ever since the storm. The police have been kicking us out of everywhere we go and we try to hide and try to stay out of the way," said Lori Wilmowski, a resident that lives in an encampment. "We've even been next to the freeway just to get away from the public eye because they don't like us to be seen."
Becky Jorgeson, Founder of Hope’s Village said the cleanup of encampments is not anything new but she said the way in which they are handled and the treatment of the homeless population has gotten much worse.
Wilmowski is just one of many living on the streets of San Luis Obispo and is forced to constantly be on the move.
“I was woken up by a policeman who said, you have five to ten minutes to gather up what you can and leave or we're going to arrest you," added another unhoused resident, David Thomas Coull.
People living in encampments say the belongings they can not carry are left behind, confiscated, or thrown out.
“Six different times we were kicked out within a week or two. So they took anything and everything that I did have, which was clothes, food, and blankets, everything," added Wilmowski.
“The cops will say you have to move and the people say, well, where shall we go? And they go, we don't know. There is no place. Prado is trying really hard to do what they can, but they only have 124 beds and we have several hundred homeless people in San Luis Obispo," added Jorgeson.
San Luis Obispo Police said in a statement to KSBY on Monday that it’s not their responsibility to clean up encampments, saying quote:
“Officers only take property when making an arrest…..the responsibility to clean up camps resides with the public works department….”
One of the biggest challenges for many in the unhoused community is losing their valuables.
“It means you have to start over," said Coull.
According to the city’s temporary storage guidelines items collected must be given a property receipt that includes information like the location and time of collection.
Property owners then have 90 days to claim their belongings after that, the items are discarded, but Jorgeson said that is not always the case.
“They are not giving receipts as the city attorney says. They are not giving notice. All these people down here can tell you that it happens every single day and there's no place for them to go," explained Jorgeson.
The city attorney’s office replied to the allegations in an emailed statement to KSBY, saying quote:
“It is absolutely not the policy of the city to confiscate or dispose of property on public land without notice and an opportunity to store necessary items.”
The city details which items can be stored according to the city’s storage guidelines. Those living on the streets say what they really need is more time.
“Yes. we are given notices and it takes a while sometimes, you know, sometimes they'll say they'll be there in three days or a few days, but they don't give us enough time," said Wilmowski.
The unhoused community hopes their voices and concerns are heard.
Hope’s Village plans to meet with the police chief, Rick Scott, in the next couple of days to talk about the situation.
