An article in today's paper tells of a property owner who bulldozed a homeless encampment off his private lot in downtown Fresno.
The men who were living there said they were notified on Wednesday by a manager that they needed to leave the area by Friday. They were able to move some of their belongings, but one man lost clothing, blankets and a cat. He said some of the 15 people who lived there returned to find all of their possessions gone.
Fifteen people were living on this lot? If they were told on Wednesday that they needed to clear out, why were they still trespassing on private property when the owner decided to reclaim his land?
I think this is different from a previous situation in which homeless advocates filed a lawsuit against the city of Fresno after the city confiscated and destroyed personal property. I think a property owner has the right to notify anyone who is squatting illegally on his or her land to vacate, and if that doesn't happen, then to take action to reclaim their property.
Was notice on Wednesday adequate? I think so. It wasn't like someone who is renting a property. When you rent a property from someone, you have a binding legal agreement with the land owner, which requires a certain process and timeline if eviction becomes an issue. These people were on the property illegally.
What happened to the homeless people, who were trespassing on private property, was not even newsworthy. The homeless people were breaking the law. The property owner did nothing wrong and was completely in the right. By the Fresno Bee running this story on the front page of it's paper, it makes them look like they side with, scumbag, lawbreakers.
There are many lenses through which this can be viewed, but none of them offer a clear perspective. Who should we look to for blame? The same people we should look to for solutions: ourselves.
Does the property owner have legal responsibility? Yes (though I don't know all the laws involved here). Does the City have civil responsibility? Yes. Do the rest of us have moral responsibility? You betcha. These are our neighbors, and despite our perceptions of their situation, they’re human, not homeless.
The question isn’t whether or not the notice was sufficient, or whether the action was legal. The question is, How do we learn from this and move forward? How do we meet the needs of our neighbors in the process of revitalizing downtown—or in bringing change to any other neighborhood for that matter?
Enough talk. Get out and serve these people—spend time in conversation with them—and I promise your perspective will change.
I make the same offer here that I made on MindHub: if you’ll show up, I’ll organize a day on April 26 (or another date if need be) to hear more about the homeless issue in our community, and then break up into work/service groups. It’s not for a story, or for more conversation—it’s for action. Four hours (give or take) of one Saturday.
Until we address the underling causes of homelessness, such as lack of jobs that pay a living wage and lack of affordable housing, the number of homeless will continue to grow. Fresno ranks among the top 15 cities in the nation for least affordable housing. It also has one of the highest poverty rates.
I think the owner has every right to take back his property. They can stay in the camp set up at the Poverello house or at the rescue mission but they just don't want to have to follow the rules regarding drugs and alcohol. I believe some of them prefer to live this life as well as those that got there out of bad luck. The city has got to do something on some of their property. The homeless camp on the ramp off 99 is a huge danger as all it would take is someone taking that ramp even though it is closed to kill a bunch of people. It is an eyesore. Anyone driving through our city will not be encouraged to open a business or move here after seeing that. I would be more than willing to go help and converse with them. They are people just like us and we are all Gods children. I am sure if you have a special day my church (Northwest) would most likely be there as would Cornerstone and other churches. God loves the lost.