Just a few days before Vallejo’s Point-in-Time Count event to help the unsheltered, the Vallejo Police Department issued 72-hour eviction notice letters to the people currently housed in the area around the JFK Library in downtown Vallejo.
On Feb. 23, the Vallejo/Solano County Point event is scheduled to obtain a snapshot census of people experiencing homelessness in the community.
The count includes people who, on the night of the count, are sheltered or living in emergency shelters/transitional housing, or unsheltered and staying outdoors or places not designed for habitation including vehicles, streets, parks and abandoned buildings.
The count is conducted at least biennially and is a requirement to receive homeless assistance funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The count also presents an opportunity to raise awareness of the myriad challenges homeless citizens face, hear personal experiences from those experiencing homelessness, and demonstrate the compassion and generosity of the community.
However, many of those people may not be there due to the eviction notices.
Joey Carrizales, a Vallejo resident and advocate with organizations such as Board Member Housing First/CoC and Member Lived Experience Advisory Committee (L.E.A.C.), was “disgusted” when he saw the eviction notices on Thursday.
“My whole annoyance is that this comes right before the Point-in-Time count and these people are being forced to move before they can be properly counted,” Carrizales told the Times-Herald on Friday. “This is happening because the leadership in Vallejo is inadequate. We are forcing them out with evictions out of an area that provides safety and slight protection. There have been strong voices that have wanted their removal for a long time.
“What stinks is I go talk to my homeless friends living in that area and I look at their faces which have grown disheveled and more dark because of the sun and they ask me, ‘Where am I supposed to go?’” Carrizales continues. “‘Where am I supposed to go’ they keep asking. That always brings me to tears.”
Back in December, McCune Collection representatives sent out a letter to Vallejo staff members urging them to remove the encampments near their entrance at the site near City Hall and the JFK Library.
“The City is aware of this small encampment in the sheltered area next to the library,” according Vallejo PIO Christina Lee in a story in the Vallejo Sun. “At this time, it is unlawful for us to remove people or belongings from an established encampment without a 72-hour notice and available shelter options. We agree with the Commission that Vallejo, like every other city in the Bay Area, is in desperate need of assistance for our homeless populations and the City is exploring its options.”
The notices posted to the unsheltered around the JFK Library on Thursday morning state that the unsheltered living in the area have three days to vacate the illegal campsite and have debris removed. The notice cites law 647(e) which states: “Any person who commits any of the following acts is guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor: who lodges in any building, structure, vehicle, or place, whether public or private, without the permission of the owner or person entitled to the possession of in control of it.”
The letter also cites 7.67.030 VMC: “Unlawful camping. It shall be unlawful for any person to camp, occupy camp facilities and use camp paraphernalia, or cause a disturbance or nuisance in the following areas: any park, any street or public property.”
Finally the letter also states law 7.67.040 VMC which states: “Unlawful storage of unattended personal property in public.”
According to the letter, the notice was put up Thursday at 10 a.m. and the date of the cleanup will be Tuesday at 9 a.m., just one day before the Point-of-Time event.
The letter says that all encampments and personal property will be moved on Monday morning and any property left at the site after that time will be impounded by the city in accordance with the laws listed above in this story.
“Any personal property not disposed of will be stored for 90 days without charge, after which the items will be disposed of,” the letter said. “Personal property will be deemed finally abandoned and destroyed on May 25. Personal property can be claimed at 2 Florida Street in Vallejo.”
The notice also goes on to say that immediate shelter housing at the Christian Help Center and to call (707) 553-8192. It also states the City will provide free bus passes for individuals seeking transportation to a homeless shelter or vaccination clinic.
This week, Natalie Peterson, an administrative analyst with the City Manager’s Office received a few emails asking if the Vallejo Police Department were aware of the Feb. 23 Point-of-Time count when the eviction notices were placed.
Peterson responded by saying, “The City is aware of the PIT Count happening next week, and does not intend to interfere with the count. Over the past year, the VPD Community Services Division has made several visits to the library encampment, and has offered various services to the individuals at this site; including working with Coordinated Entry System to secure housing. The 72-Hour Notices that were posted (Thursday) provide information regarding available shelter beds, free bus passes to the listed shelter and vaccine sites, and information regarding the retrieval of items removed during the planned clean-up.”However, Carrizales said that the response was “totally unacceptable!!!” and how many people don’t like the Christian Help Center due to a poor reputation among the unsheltered community. Carrizales goes on to say that the type of behavior by Vallejo towards his unsheltered friends “further erodes confidence and trust within the homeless and unsheltered community.”
“I believe the City has decided to listen to the Politics of Fear expressed by the McCunne Collection Board as the Chair person has been very vocal to the City Council and city staff for their removal from under the JFK Library area,” Carrizales said. “I am simply amazed, but not surprised that the City of Vallejo has decided to force my friends to move, thereby jeopardizing a proper and important Point in Time Count just because (people) are whining and crying over a human being sleeping in an area that provides safety, comfort and slight protection from the weather.”
As of press time, the VPD did not respond to an email asking why the eviction notices were put out before the Point-in-Time event on Feb. 23.
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