Caltrans's District 3 has posted on Facebook about how they worked with Caltrans HQ, CHP-Valley Division, Sac County and the City of Sacramento to abate a homeless encampment located "Business 80/Capitol City Freeway in Del Paso Park area in Sacramento" (per the Facebook post). The post said, "For the #safetyfirst of the traveling public", 2 cubic yards of trash and debris were removed and support services were offered to 3 homeless campers.

Let's think about that for a moment. It's great that Caltrans stepped up and did something about homeless camping on its property in the right of way. It is commendable that Caltrans involved support services in the abatement (though the post was silent about whether or not the support services resulted in shelter and a way out of homelessness for the campers). But did you notice WHY Caltrans did that? Caltrans said it was out of concern for the motorists speeding by on the freeway. You wouldn't want motorists to be distracted by a homeless encampment or an ugly trashed landscape, right? Well, of course not. But what about the plight of the unhoused people? No one should have to live like that. What about the possibility that said campers might loiter in the adjacent community? Is it possible they could cause problems? Might they engage in criminal activity, or do drugs in full view of your kids - maybe even leave dangerous needles lying around? Would they adversely impact economic activity in the area? Would you want to buy a house or rent an apartment, start up or work in a business, or shop in a neighborhood where panhandlers routinely begged for money? Probably not.

Now take a look at the photo (below) of the area surrounding the problem site. Yes, the storage facility is technically within the City of Sacramento, and it is indeed near Del Paso Regional Park (about 1/2 mile or more away).  But mostly it is in a setting that consists of homes and businesses in unincorporated Arden Arcade. That means the clean up was not really in "the Del Paso Park area", it was adjacent to those homes and businesses in our unincorporated community - which is not "Sacramento". The effects of the homeless camping at the storage facility at Auburn Blvd. and Watt Avenue play out among our homes and businesses. For those of us who live and/or work  here, out-of-control homelessness is an everyday fact of life. It's much more of a problem for us than it is for motorists speeding by on their way to or from Elk Grove, the Bay Area, Rocklin, Auburn, the Sierras or Reno. So, while we thank Caltrans for leading the clean-up, we feel compelled to remind the County, the Sheriff, and the impacted out-of-area-owned businesses (like the self-storage place) that homeless encampments in this community are abundant. That's a big deal around here, one for which the impacts fall on our community - and therefore should not be taken lightly. Cleaning up homeless encampments for passing motorists? That's not the same as doing so to solve homelessness and to reduce the impacts of pervasive homelessness on a large, urbanized community.