San Benito River homeless encampment set to be cleared by end of April
By Dania Romero
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SAN BENITO, Calif. (KION) — Encampments along the San Benito, set to be cleared in just a few weeks.
City and county officials there say they are a safety risk. A woman I spoke with who lives here under this bridge tells me she has serious doubts about the county’s solution to clear the area she has called home for the past two years.
“I just wonder what they’re gonna do with everybody. You know what I mean? I just wondered what they are gonna do because they have the shelter, but the shelter is always full,” said Debrah Skelton, who lives in the encampment.
Along the San Benito River, under a bridge, lives Debra with her two dogs. She’s been living here on and off for the past two years.
After hearing about the encampments being cleared in a matter of weeks. She expressed her concerns about the whole process, after she says she’s been kicked out of homeless shelters after they have reached capacity.
“We’re out of freaking limelight. Because the way I look at it, you move us out of here, we can’t go to the shelter. We’re in your doorways, we’re on your streets, and it’s not against the law to be homeless,” said Skelton
With over 100 people living along the San Benito River according to the county, Ignacio Velaquez, San Benito County supervisor, hears the concerns from the people there and assures them there are solutions.
“We have our homeless shelter. We have vouchers for some hotels in the area. We have some RVs we’re gonna start using. So we have different resources for them to go to,” said Velasquez.
Velasquez says they are not using any funding to pay for the costs to move and clean the areas.
The county, along with the city of Hollister and San Juan Bautista, are partnering up to keep the costs down.
“We just all work together and kind of where are the camps set up? Who needs help? Are there teenagers who need help? There are a lot of kids that need help also. So we wanna make sure they get to the services in the county,” said Velasquez.
Velasquez went on to say above all, the encampments pose a safety hazard.
“There’s a lot of fires that happen down there, criminal activity, and we want to make sure the homeless are getting the services they need,” said Velasquez.
“We just ask for a little- you don’t know what I mean, a little common courtesy, a little respect, don’t just because. We don’t look, you know, clean-cut or whatever doesn’t mean we’re not human like you,” said Skelton.
By the third week of April, the county says they will begin to clear the encampments.
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