Concord Police issued a “remove camp” notice to the 18 homeless people who have been living near Cowell Rd. and Monument Blvd., next to the Concord Skate Park.
The notice says the people need to move before Wednesday, Jan.26.
A protest will be held in front of the Concord Police station today at 4:30 p.m. to urge the City of Concord to reverse their decision.
145 comments
Great start!!! Let me know if you need help locating other camps for removal.
+1
Did I misread the article? The article seems to read that the protesters are AGAINST REMOVING the tents. If that is so, if the demands of the protesters were met, those removed would not need spare rooms in anyone’s house.
If you are a protestor, I hope you have opened up all the spare rooms in your house for the homeless.
Hahaha exactly!
I get your sentiment, but your logic is a bit backwards.
If they’re protesting them being removed, then their position is to have the homeless remain there, not go elsewhere (i.e. their own homes).
If anything, it would be those who want the homeless removed from public spaces that would have the onus to open up their own private property to them.
It’s about time. Concord has become such a dump.
@Plinko – “has become such a dump?” always was! it briefly got better after I moved away, but another degenerate immediately took my place.
Forever doomed to be central county’s litter box!
If you don’t have friends or family who have either experienced homelessness or are threatened by the possibility of becoming homeless, then you are either living under a rock, or you are very lucky.
This ‘CalMatters’ article has some solid solutions, and it’s well worth reading: https://bit.ly/3ICBn68
ANEW friends or family usually get help from friends or family,or get a free gavin newsom hotel room that all these campers cant adhere to, because of their lifestyle choice everyone has to look at this?This is not how real life works.There is no much free city,county,state federal aid,but it all has rules,and these people want to live with out rules.Ask people in jail and prison how that worked out for them??These are not homeless,they are unhouseable.Send em all to Mexico..why not?because there is nothing there to steal,these people hang around city limits to beg,lie and steal for money.What ever happened to the”will work for food” signs?too many people got offered work and they just wanted a handout and the whole thing was a scam.now its just blatant(empowered by Obama) “gimme my free $ht.”No shame,just GIMME
Move them to the Naval Weapons Station. My son and his friends have been harassed by some of the homeless while having fun at the skate park. It’s not safe for the kids.
Don’t move them there! Just move them out of the city. If cities refuse to welcome these drains, then they will stop being enabled and will finally choose a better path.
I have no sympathy for those who chose to live in camps.
I’m glad they are being forced to move.
They have the freedom of choice to decide how to live for themselves.
With freedom comes responsibility.
Without responsibility, there can be no freedom.
That’s why I have no sympathy for the campers.
Well put.
These “unfortunates” choose to not live by the rules of society and should not be afforded the comforts and security it provides.
You made your bed……
I actually agree with you…
Humans do not belong living on the streets and vacant lots of a city. I hope your protest is successful and the way you can make it successful is for every protested that shows up protesting this action please take a homeless home with you and the problem will be solved. Think about it you are protesting for these 18 people to stay living in the conditions they are currently in. How is that helping them.? Show up take them home.
Protesters are also saying it is ok for them to take over property belonging to others. You want them to stay there, what are you going to do to make it ok for the property owners and people who live and play in the area. I don’t know this particular homeless camp, but many of them have syringes laying around, a ton of garbage to clean up and use the ground for a bathroom. And yes, the Naval Weapons Station is government owned and a government run “camp” could be set up there with outhouses, garbage service and sharps disposal
most of these poor souls are mentally incompetent to help themselves!maybe 80% or so! they need psychiatric help more than anything but in the meantime at least a place to get out of the weather! and I know concord officials can find some way of getting them sanitary toilets! every body keeps kicking the can dn the road! I have been asking around for 8 years now!same answer? we will get back to you! bs bs!
What has prompted this notice to “remove camp” at this place and at this time? As this squatting (or camping) has been all over the region. How about some tough love? Shape up or ship out!
How about no public sanitation for a start?
I didn’t see any public sanitation the last time I walked by this area. Watch out for those pit toilets the campers have dug!
Anyone protesting this decision should offer to house these folks in their own homes.
I’m sorry that these people have found themselves in this situation (however it happened), but allowing them to set up camp anywhere they choose is not the answer. Concord is quickly turning into Pittsburg and Oakland; crime, graffiti, trash, and homeless camps are becoming more and more common. Concord used to be “where families came first” but not anymore. If things don’t start to change, my family won’t be sticking around.
+1
Better start house hunting because nothing will change. Unless there is a policy shift regarding homeless, anything less is a temporary bandaid, and the homeless population will continue to grow.
No Problem, they will find another spot to set up camp, maybe in a nicer neighborhood.
We should just ship them next door to Walnut Creek. The bleeding heart liberals there don’t seem to care about their city going down the drain!
All need to be removed and taken somewhere like the governors house and this needs to stop. They get all for free on our dime. We the people are tired of it. Time for them to go.
A protest in favor of homeless living under the Bart tracks? Tell me, where do those homeless people put their garbage? Where do they go to the bathroom? Don’t tell me that in every instance they are able to use public restrooms and they always cleanup after themselves. In addition to being a health nuisance the homeless are subjected to cold/hot temperatures, violence, neglect and not having basic necessities. Those people campaigning for the homeless to be allowed to live under the Bart tracks should have their head and hearts examined. Of course if Concord would have done something about the homeless problem a decade ago it wouldn’t be as bad as it is now. Where are our leaders? Why were the homeless allowed to live under the Bart tracks for so long?
I don’t think Claycord has done a good job of explaining the situation.
We don’t mind unhoused people being relocated if they are on private property or somewhere unsafe. But the city is asking them to move and is NOT providing any suggestions for alternative locations even when we have asked them multiple times. There is no space in the shelters, and waitlists for subsidized housing are multiple years long.
Where should unhoused people go in the meantime? We want the city to work with us toward coming up with solutions. Specifically, we are asking the city follow the law by designating one or more areas of city property where people who have no other means of shelter can legally camp. We also want the city to provide them with a dumpster and restroom/hand-washing facilities (or allow private donors to provide these, which our city has not allowed in the past). Most unhoused people would actually prefer to keep their camping area clean and would rather not have to pee and poop out in the open, but without proper sanitation facilities, they sometimes have no other option.
It will benefit all Concord residents (housed an unhoused) if the city will work with us toward coming up with actual solutions.
BonnieBrownHair–
A permanent campground is still not a solution. Getting people off the streets AND out of shelters and into jobs and real housing is the goal. If the homeless person is unable to work due to disability, mental health issues etc., then they belong in treatment facilities of some sort. I do feel sorry for the people who live in those camps but they need real solutions not a designated plot of land they can’t be removed from. The city doesn’t have the money or resources to be all things to all people at all times. Maybe you and your fellow demonstrators could start a go fund me and purchase some land and provide all those things you think are necessary for the homeless to live comfortably. Why are you waiting for and expecting someone else to do it?
Well Mac N Cheese
You need to understand that 99% of these homeless folks choose to be homeless. They choose it because they don’t have to abide by rules. They choose it because it gets them attention. They choose it because they can get something for nothing. They choose it. If they wanted off the streets, they would get clean and get a job. I was on the streets for over a year. I know how it works and they are using the very things for an excuse that you are saying. I know too many of the “campers”
@bonnie
Say Concord does provide them a spot on city owned land, and suppose the city covers the cost of dumpsters and porta-potties for them, who is responsible if one of the “campers” becomes injured or killed while on that city sponsored site? Who’s responsible? Who would quickly find themselves in a lawsuit? Yes. The answer is the city of Concord. It’s not quite that easy Bonnie. It’s not the city’s responsibility to provide for people, many of whom are there because of their own choices. Resources are available, but most do not want to follow the rules required to take advantage of them.
City council always seems to be after low cost housing. Doesn’t that qualify for those that are homeless
Good.
Anytime a camp pops up, they should be citing the homeless. Allow one person to stay, and more will come. This camp in particular now has 3-4 cars and a couple of motocycles that ‘live’ there.
What would the citation be for? Would they need to pay a fine or go to jail?
It is a 72 hour move citation. No move = all stuff take To the dump. I have had to do this a few times as homeless like my nonprofit property.
There’s too much money to be made in the homeless industry for anything significant to ever be done about the feral humans.
yes, this.
They will relocate to another vacant lot and then in a few months get the same notice.
Who’s protesting, those being moved or their “supporters?”
That being said, I too am tired of homeless encampments. I’ve worked hard and made a lot of sacrifices to maintain a job and buy a home. If you don’t want to, fine. But don’t squat and cost me money.
Those that are protesting to let them stay know that if they are evicted, chances are they will end up in their neighborhoods to defecate and urinate on their well manicured lawns in front of their snowflake kids.
Too close to the police station?
I drive by this dump several times a week. I’m glad that the Concord PD are taking this long-overdue action.
Protesters: go clean up the homeless camp if you want to do some good. Otherwise you’re literally enabling crack heads.
You will be pleased to learn that we actually did go help people clean up the encampment on Sunday, and we tried to help unhoused residents move to a new location (in accordance with police orders), but the police prevented them from moving to the new location. That’s why we were protesting on Monday — because the police had told them to leave but weren’t letting them go anywhere.
I’m happy to report that on Tuesday, the police decided to follow the law by letting people move to the new location.
We are now trying to petition Concord City Council to work with us toward solutions that take into account the concerns of Concord homeowners/renters (such as wanting a clean city with safe parks) but also protect the human rights of the unhoused. Specifically, we would like some way for unhoused residents to have access to dumpsters, bathrooms, and hand-washing stations at their encampments. Eventually, we would like to work toward having enough housing and shelter space so that encampments are no longer needed, but our city is not there yet.
I have mixed feelings about this issue. This particular camp is in my neighborhood and that entire stretch of San Miguel is looking really bad. The tents and garbage have been there for months and months. I assume they are using the porta potty inside the skate park. While I do feel for most of the displaced people, I have seen some obvious tweakers around there. The increase in graffiti does not help with the overall appearance of that area, and I would imagine the entire scenario attracts some with less than lawful intentions. It is an unfortunate situation, but I will feel much safer when the area is restored and the tents and garbage have been removed. There are no easy answers to the homeless situation, but it is a safety concern for local residents.
Thanks for sharing your honest concerns. As a Concord homeowner and parent, I care about these things as well. It sounds like you do have compassion for the unhoused and recognize that there isn’t an easy solution.
We (the protestors and advocates) really want to work with the city of Concord to come up with workable solutions that protect the human rights of the unhoused but also take into account the concerns of others who live in the neighborhood.
How about a counter demonstration in support of this action?
I live on san miguel rd – hopefully the police will stick to their guns on this- just drove by the cop shop and i guarantee none of those misguided “protesters ” lives in this neighborhood
How about letting them set up on the sidewalk in the building where board of supes work? Or across the street from city hall. Wanna see how quickly the issue is addressed then? I had called in about this, seeing how the tents are within eyeshot of a skate park with a porta potty. This situation has been a tragedy waiting to happen for months now…. Let’s hope this gets done soon….
Police issuing “Remove Camp” notices to homeless under BART Tracks??? Oh, that will take care of it!
next step would be to make sure no one camps under the freeway on willow pass rd/marker
It’s about time the city stepped up.Hopefully this cleanup will continue.The citizens need to keep the pressure on the city politicians.
Our government is forcing vehicles changes, making laws and raising taxes because the plant, environment and global warming are so important. Yet, homeless camps with chemicals, batteries and other stuff is just fine in our water ways and into the ground. Gavin had gotten billions for the homeless, yet only pur taxes can fix the problem.
Well crap. The wife and I were just talking about pulling our RV up on the grass, next to the Taj Mahal tent guy, and camping this weekend.
Way to ruin a weekend CPD.
I’m relocating over by Airport Appliances. We’ll safe some chronic for you and the Mrs 🙌
Meet them at the gates with Rottweilers and fire hoses.
Unless the property is private (which I doubt it because the owner(s) would have asked the homeless to move), the homeless is legally have to move 10ft. So I don’t think they will move far anytime soon. The city can’t do anything since the city has to offer these homeless some shelter as alternative. Guess what folks, concord shall be come like SF. If you all have not noticed the area under, along 242 freeway are already filled with homeless😡
BART owns the property
Whoever owns the property should put up a fence to keep homeless easy access to open space. That’s what the property owner had to do where they had Blockbuster Video at East and Concord Blvd.
Homelessness has been an unfortunate situation for many many years and to see such a great neighborhood that we recently moved to begin to decrease in safety and cleanliness is not why we moved to Concord.
Over the past few months, this encampment started off at 1-2 campers to now multiple, possibly over 10. When you move to an area that has so much charm, diversity, family oriented, and safe, you think… “This is a great city to raise a family”.
Bottom line is homelessness will continue to be on the rise especially with the pandemic. But it’s what people do to change their situation… Are they asking for assistance, looking for work, etc. or are they drug addicts (which SOME homeless tend to go to when in an unfortunate situation), squatters, or just don’t have the financial stability to move???
I totally agree it needs to be moved, but the other question is where would they go??? More than likely just relocate and develop another encampment elsewhere. There are larger encampments in other neighborhoods worse than this one. It’s unfortunate to see this sight everyday when traveling on Monument and just in general from city to city. I agree it needs to be moved, but what is the next step to providing resources to those that want to be helped?
Unfortunately, with resources come expectations. Many homeless will not abide with basic expectations, such as sobriety.
Yes, I know of what I speak. I’ve worked with many homeless individuals and many (not all) wish to live their lives as they currently do. Some don’t want to take responsibility for themselves or their living conditions. Sad, but true.
I hope Concord makes National news and other cities follow suit.
Did I miss the posts by any of the 84 Contra Costa Churches that are stepping to assist? https://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/rcms2010.asp?U=06013&T=county&Y=2010&S=Name
@Rich,
Many churches feed the homeless; I don’t know of any that have a “home-ing” program. It is not the responsibility of churches to tend to these folks; it is the city’s responsibility. Now, if a church **does** help, what’s their liability if the homeless person commits a crime?
My church http://www.tfh.org has a fantastic program for incarcerated people, to help them while in prison, and then help them reintegrate into a crime-free life onece they’ve served their time.
Not all churches are mission-driven to help those who are homeless. That is a drug, mental illness and companion-animal matter that is very complex. If you’ve never watched “Seattle is Dying”, a fantastic documentary that shows why the homeless population has boomed in SF, etc., and how Rhode Island has successfully programs to resolve these issues, I suggest you take one hour and watch it; it’s extraordinary.
https://youtu.be/bpAi70WWBlw
Our city council is desperate for community member to speak up on behalf of the clinic up efforts. The protesters were out this weekend with signs against cleaning up the camps.
I understand and have sympathy for our homeless population. But supporting a camp benefits no one. Especially not the kids in the neighborhood using the skate park. Say good bye to our workers that walked to BART. Most importantly what about the folks that live in that neighborhood that lines the Bart property. What about their voices. Guess they don’t matter.
It’s incredibly upsetting. I’ve heard several times that communities are sending homeless to concord because we’ve allowed it to be swept under the rug.
Ultimately, it’s time for our community to stand up and say this isn’t okay. There is a city council meeting tomorrow night. I hope support shows up for both sides and it’s not one sided. I don’t have the solution to the homeless issue. But allowing it to continue is not the answer.
So I guess if you want to see the
Hi, everyone! I was part of the group protesting. We are asking the city of Concord to designate a safe space on city property where people who are unhoused can legally camp without fear of having their shelter removed.
According to a Ninth Circuit ruling (Martin vs. Boise), if a city does not have enough shelter beds for its unhoused residents, then it is unconstitutional for the city to issue camping citations to people on city property. It’s considered a violation of their 8th amendment rights (against “cruel and unusual punishment”) to not allow someone to shelter themselves from the elements if no other shelter is available.
The San Miguel encampment was given the “remove camp” notices, but the police officers who issued the notices did not tell the residents where they could legally relocate (even when asked). We were told that the police would come this Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday to remove any tents or belongings that still remained in the San Miguel area.
A large group of volunteers met on Sunday to help the encampment residents move to a new location on city property (in accordance with the law). We provided them with large plastic bins for organizing their things and also helped them clean up trash in the San Miguel encampment area. When we arrived at the new location, we were told by a lieutenant that we could not set up their tents there. We explained the law and again asked, “Where would you like them to go?” and we were not given any answers. We set up camp there anyway (as the people had no where else to go), and police tagged their tents again with 24 hour removal notices. The people had to move back to the San Miguel area, where their tents and blankets and everything they own is in danger of being taken from them tomorrow.
We are not sure what to do! Do you have any suggestions? This has become an emergency situation because their shelter is being taken away from them tomorrow — in the middle of winter — and they have nowhere to relocate to.
As a Concord homeowner and parent, I definitely care about the safety and cleanliness of my city. But I also care about the basic human rights of those who have no resources — and shelter is a basic human right.
Do you have any extra space in your backyard?
thank you!
Ah, a Concord homeowner! How many are you taking in? I bet you could fit at least a few tents in your yard. Any spare bedrooms? Sharps disposal?
The Boise decision requires offering a shelter bed, have we confirmed there are no shelter beds available? I’m guessing it’s a situation where help isn’t being taken.
Contact sf homeless coalition. They deal with homeless so they know resources and homeless right. And as I have said earlier, the homeless only have to move 10 ft from a previous location. So they can place musical chair with the concord police.
Get Off My Lawn —
Yes, we have absolutely confirmed there are no shelter beds available. Many of the people in the encampments are on waitlists for housing or are working with social workers from various organizations to try to find housing, but there is currently nothing available for them. They need to be allowed to shelter themselves from the elements until a more longterm solution can be found.
Paul —
The problem with playing “musical chairs” is that it is very hard on the unhoused community to have to move around every few days (or whenever the police have the whim to move them). Some of them are disabled and have great difficulty setting up their tents and relocating all their things. (I was helping a man on Sunday who has COPD, and he had to take multiple 10-20 minute breaks to catch his breath while we were packing up his tent and possessions and moving them to a new location — and his stuff wasn’t even heavy — we’re talking just clothes and blankets.)
It also puts people’s mental health at risk because it sends the message that our city doesn’t want them. I talked to one unhoused resident who said that the sweeps made him feel like he should just give up and die. 🙁 It puts people’s physical health at risk because if they are not able to move their stuff, they risk having all their shelter and blankets taken away from them. Plus, the stress of being relocated every few days causes real physical harm.
It’s also a huge waste of city resources (such as police officer’s salaries) because forcing someone to move 10 feet away or even a couple blocks over, just so they can move back again a few days later, is completely pointless and accomplishes nothing (other than harming the unhoused). Do you know that it would actually cost the city LESS money to provide housing for every single unhoused individual than what we are currently spending on police and emergency resources for unhoused people?
My suggestion: Make homelessness illegal and stop enabling it. If addicts refuse help, lock ’em up. If people don’t want to work and contribute to society, lock ’em up. How did we as a civilized, modern society get to a place where it is ok to reward folks for bad behavior? How is it ok to allow people to live in substandard, third world conditions? Relocating homeless into camps with Porta potties is no solution. It may make the libbies sleep better at night but it is not a compassionate and viable long term solution.
Bonnie, open up your home and your yards while you figure this out.
How about your front yard and the sidewalk that runs in front of it! People are tire of the BS line these homeless are giving. They should be arrested and forced to do street cleanup for restitution. Then they should be made to do a 90 day stint in rehab. Then if they want help getting into an apartment and job placement spend the money to do so.
We are asking the city to designate an area or areas where people WHO HAVE NO OTHER OPTIONS can legally shelter themselves.
We would also like the city to provide (or allow private donors to provide) a dumpster and bathroom/hand-washing facilities (as this will greatly cut down on the trash and other sanitation hazards in the encampment). Private donors did attempt to pay for a port-a-potty and regular servicing at the San Miguel location, but they were told it was not allowed. This is inhumane.
I know the encampment residents well, and the vast majority of them want to maintain a safe, clean area but are not given the resources needed to do so.
No absolutely not. Get them out of here. One of them tried to enter a house and started masturbating in front of a ring camera at 4am. There was another one running around screaming in a hostile way swinging at the air and waving a knife around. And all the trash and drugs? That area looks like a superfund site. Enough of this crap. Send them on their way, or to your front door.
They need to go somewhere else Bobbie,nobody wants to see it.And they dont ever keep their area clean,what planet are you on?Most nighttime(and daytime crime) is done by the homeless.
Let them go to Walnut Creek.They want to be so helpful.
Let the liberals step up.or shut up.
maybe take a few home with you Bobboe,and no excuses,you have a back yard or garage,don’t you?Why atrent they getting a free motel room from Newsom/Maybe they already did ,and got botted from thr program.There is no helping chronic drug addicts/alcoholics,and you can wax poetic about it all day long..These are not just people down on their luck.
Typo:
botted=booted
Bobboe =Bobbie
thr=the
Where would you like them to go? Most of these people are originally from Concord or the surrounding environs. Most of them were homeowners or renters here at one point before they lost their housing. I definitely think each city should be taking care of their own unhoused population, so the onus doesn’t fall just on the city of Concord, but we should not be trying to pass the problem off to other cities (just like we don’t want them to pass the problem off exclusively to us).
The offer of hotel rooms was NOT for everyone — mainly for elderly or families, from what I understand. I have personally talked to two unhoused couples who attempted to get shelter in a hotel during the pandemic and were told they didn’t qualify. One is a young couple who is immunocompromised. The other couple was expecting a baby. People are reaching out for help and attempting to access resources, but there are currently not enough resources.
If individuals are breaking laws (such as public masturbation or threatening others with weapons), then those individuals do need to be apprehended and dealt with appropriately. But we should not punish all unhoused people for the actions of a few. (If I broke a law, would you expect the police to punish all the residents who live on my cul-de-sac? Or just me?)
Would you like to go with me to meet our unhoused residents some time? I go out every Sunday and feed about 60 people, and I’ve gotten to know many of them well. If you came with me, I think you would see that your impression of unhoused people (and the resulting fear of unhoused people) is greatly unfounded. Let me know!
These people always have other options. They are not poor people down on their luck. They are drug addicted, mentally ill people that want to live their life anyway that they choose and screw everyone else. We need to make sure there is a clean, dry shelter for the homeless then make it illegal to camp, loiter or sleep on the street and enforce it. The politicians need to stop enabling and supporting this behavior and start using logic and not their heart to solve this problem. It would be better for the homeless and society.
@bonnie so wrong
Most of these homeless are transients from another state. Not from CA or even this area. Get your eggs in a row there BB before you start sniveling over the homeless. They will rape you, rob you and then stick you in the back
OverWhelmed — I’ve spent a lot of time with our unhoused neighbors, including visiting encampments alone in the dark*, and I have never been threatened, robbed, or assaulted. I did have someone yell at me once, five years ago, but I got over it.
*I generally only recommend visiting encampments alone in the dark if you already know the residents well. Otherwise, it’s kind of intrusive, and YOU may be viewed as a threat.
Bobbie,its you and 30 people VS 100,000 Concord residents.What on earth could you possbily accomplish but to pat yourself on the back?
@bonniebrownhair….”If individuals are breaking laws (such as public masturbation or threatening others with weapons),…”….Not to be bragging, but in my case both actions were rolled into one charge of “threatening a Rossmore resident with a 3-wood on the back nine”.
https://cchealth.org/h3/services.php
Contra Costa C.O.R.E. has been out there nearly every day for months offering these people services which are continually refused. You can see them and their vehicles almost every day.
They have been offered housing.
They have been offered food.
They have been offered medical and mental health care.
They have been offered financial help.
…yet they refuse.
There is absolutely no reason for them to be there.
Public camping and trashing our city and are ecosystem is not an acceptable option. Everything has been offered to these people. Our city government owes them nothing and should not provide them anything more than the county has already provided.
There is nothing humane about enabling people to live on the street.
They need to go.
Kilo — It is a very common misconception that people in the encampment have been offered resources but refuse to accept them.
Have you ever actually called CORE? I have, many times. The people who work for CORE are nice, but they don’t have access to the resources you would imagine they should.
Here’s what typically happens when you call CORE:
1. It goes to voicemail and you leave a message. You may hear back from them several days later, if at all. We called CORE this Sunday (to see if they could help our unhoused friends find a safe place to relocate) and we have still not heard anything back.
2. When they do respond, they come out the camps, talk to residents, and offer them water bottles and snacks. Sometimes they offer a new blanket. They empathize with them and say they are sorry they can’t do more. They often don’t even have tents. (The county has actually been known to call my friend Jack Fliehmann, an independent volunteer who feeds the unhoused, and ask him if he has any tents for people because they don’t have them.)
3. They can do risk assessment paperwork and refer them to organizations such as Trinity Center, Hope Solutions, or Monument Crisis Center. These organizations often take weeks to call a person back after they receive a referral. (I’ve been helping an unhoused family with a baby, and it took them three weeks to get a call back after doing an intake interview. They still haven’t met with a housing coordinator, and it has been a month now that we’ve been actively trying to get them help and find housing for them.)
4. Once a person goes down to one of the organizations mentioned above, they may meet with a housing coordinator who will tell them something along the lines of, “You probably think that since I’m a housing coordinator I have access to resources to get you into housing. I don’t. I can help you sign up for the housing waitlists you’ve probably already signed yourself up for, but the waitlists can take three or four years. Every once in a while I find out about a rental before it goes o the market, but that doesn’t happen often.” (This was an actual conversation I had with someone at Monument Crisis Center when I was attempting to help two elderly women — both of whom received social security income — find safe housing a few winters ago.) Even the so-called rapid rehousing programs (which are available to people who are working or capable of working) take multiple months.
I would love a longterm solution that gets people into permanent housing, but in the meantime, people need a safe place to shelter themselves until more permanent solutions are available.
“Yet they refuse”
C.O.R.E. does not allow drugs and alcohol.
Mystery solved.
Well , someone (Michael Kerr) thinks he’s better than others.
Listen chump – there are talkers and there are doers. Those that do the talking aren’t the ones doing.
So take your holier than thou attitude and DO something with it. How about taking a few people into your own house.
Or are you just demanding that someone ELSE do it?
All you people fighting to help the homeless should instead be fighting to stop the millions of illegal aliens that are allowed in each year by the current administrations.
Americans first. If we can’t help the homeless and veterans, then there’s too many people, right?
I take my 6 year old kid to the Concord skate park all the time. I am sick of these homeless people that come into the skate park and use the bathroom. These people are on drugs and I have seen many of them fighting and screaming. They should not be allowed to live so close to a park where kids play.
@bonniebrownhair. Thank you for having a heart and good suggestions
Below is the link that shows what’s available to people who want assistance.
https://cchealth.org/h3/coc/help.php
I hope the campers take advantage of the opportunity.
Cellophane — As I responded to Kiko above, it’s a very common misconception that CORE has plenty of help available for people but people are refusing to accept it. That is not the case.
CORE is made up of some incredibly kind individuals who will come out to the camps, give unhoused people a couple water bottles, talk with them and say very empathetically that they regret they do not have more resources to help them. They cannot provide housing resources that do not exist, and unfortunately there is just not enough housing for all of our unhoused.
I wrote an account above of what actually happens when you call CORE for help (which I have done many times). Please read it, because it’s not what you expect.
Looks like its called “CARE not “CORE”.Are you talking about the same thing?One can walk in,you dont need to call and wait.No good deed goes unpunished.he city knows if you let this go on soon there will be hundreds and they are waiting till someone gets hurt o,and if you dont like it,choose from several names they will call you to shut you downpp.r killed to move them usually.,but not this time..
It’s al about the Obama entitiement he corrupted the street people with.Now it’s ok to be a bump on a log,and if you dont like they will choose from several different names to call you,to shut you down.It’s all about pleasing %2 of society and the other 98 can suffer.
Bobbiebrownhair,youre a big fake looking for a cause to take credit for.
Ok bonniebrownhair step up and take a dozen or so and put them in your backyard.Put some bunk beds in your living room and be a hero.
Sorry, you can’t permanently move into public space, start parking cars and motorcycles outside your drug den tent, and trash and terrorize the neighborhood.
No.
Bonnie, if you prefer to live like that SF, Oakland or Berkeley might be a better fit for your bleeding heart?
No more urban campers, no more bums dragging down the neighborhood.
Don’t care where they go, but they CAN’T STAY HERE.
Now living outside CA. Maybe this is why there are often people near freeway entrance with signage, ‘Anywhere in CA’.
How about setting up a tent city with proper facilities on the naval weapons center land?
Give the bums a one-way Bart ticket to S.F. where they have plenty of freebees.
They would burn it down a tent city in a second.There would need to be police patrols as they are always violent,and they wouldnt go because they need to be in an urban setting to get free stuff….and/or steal.You can’t put homeless out in a forest or on an island or in a naval weapons station..there are no liquor stores and their drug dealer wont deliver that far.You cant isolate the homeless,you can only re,locate them to an area that nobody cares about and they can still live off the people.People that are true to Concord wont put up with this.Those that just got here from a worse area need to wake up before it becomes as bad as what they moved out of.Trying to help people always backfires and you know it.There no end.Its the exact same reason you dont feed wild animals.They will become dependant and stop getting food on their own.When you stop feeding them,they attack you.
lol ever since I chatted with a canal district person (we have 3 different government agencies that over see the canals) this person told me that they were told to not engage the homeless, they can stay put and no covid mandates or restrictions affect them, They are free to be….yes folks..amazing isnt it? No piles of homeless ill from covid…and we are supposed to believe this notice they post will make the homeless quake in their boots and they will run off the land? ya’ll are being played.
If the protestors want them to stay then they need to show up daily and pick up all the garbage the homeless accumulate. This includes the needles and piles of feces.
Some peoples’ hearts are so big, or rather they are so pathologically altruistic, that they would give their last scrap of food to a pleading stranger rather than feed it to their own starving child.
Ship them off to Mexico where it’s warm and there is plenty of land available. A trade-off for all the illegals allowed in CA…
George Orwell was so right in so many ways. One is that if you control the language, you can control how people think about things. I believe “homeless” as a phrase was probably created by the Left to give the impression of people who can’t scrape up the money for a down payment on a house or first and last month’s rent, not the crazy violent person from a new “homeless” camp that chased my cousin home and pounded on the door seconds after she got the door locked.
Drove by about 10 minutes ago…cops and news crew on scene.
I guess “UNHOUSED” is the new word to replace “homeless” !?! More Orwellian predictions coming true!!??
What! I mean it’s not like there is any garbage there. Or underneath the freeway by Airport Appliance. It’s disgusting, sh-%%t everywhere. It’s weird. All the do good libs don’t seem to care about pollution. Garbage everywhere! Hey I know it isn’t pretty but as long as it’s not in my neighborhood its okay says the liberals.
It’s about time.
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’
Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They’re all drinkin’, thinkin’ that they got it made
Exchanging all precious gifts
But you’d better take your diamond ring, you’d better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can’t refuse
When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You’re invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal
Bobbie,you must be one of the campers,you have a phone and internet,its all free.Yu can camp anywhere and its all free.Cept for that bad habit you havemand thats where the crime happens.Please go away and take the “18” with you(theres about 40 there)
There needs to be a bigger shelter or something get these people the resorces they need to not live life this. Also if the city would stop approving market rate houses condos and apartments things might be better.
These people dont want a place to live,you cant drink and do dope at the shelter
What will they do/Approved below market rate property?is there any such thing/And just like at any cheap motel,all the dirtbags and people with 19 children move in.Bad plan,youre asking for ghetto.
We all know the issues. Everybody is right. Does anybody have a real solution? There has to be a consequence to living outside the expectations of our society. We can’t overlook the people following the rules to accommodate those who are not. By the same token, if these people choose to be homeless (not committing crimes as determined by California) then where do their rights end? I’m sick of hearing everybody identifying the problem and nobody coming up with an answer. Temporary hotel rooms and jail don’t work. Next?
If they dont help themselves,they will never change.It’s called reality.You can’t fight or solve this.It’s mostly mental illness and theyve been trying to solve that since the caveman days.Send them to SF,but SF is sending them to us.New homeless everyday in Concord.It’s the place to be,because of people like Bobbie.Destroy property values and make Concord into 3rd world conditions,as it is becoming.All to be”nice”.oh brother.
Was there an actual protest there?
As was mentioned above, these are not Concord’s sons and daughters. At least 50% of these people are from out of the area or out of state. Word gets out that Concord is a place where you can pitch a tent wherever you’d like and people will offer you services.
Almost all of these services require a participant to abstain from drug and alcohol use. The ‘new meth’ has burned out their brains, they don’t see their lives as problematic as long as they can look forward to the next hit.
I live in this neighborhood. I have young children and I’m worried about their safety. I used to walk to BART every morning at 5am. I would be too afraid to do that now…
When will my rights and needs be acknowledged.
No one has a solution, but in a society, shouldn’t we make decisions that benefit the greater good? My fellow silent majority are sitting here reading all this and probably too afraid to stand up for their own rights and interests because of the mob mentality currently driving society.
I do have sympathy for the homeless, but I have empathy for
My fellow concordians who are silently suffering through this debacle.
As a Concord homeowner and a parent of two young children, I definitely share your concerns. I want Concord to be safe and clean, especially around areas like parks where children play.
We (the protesters and advocates) want to work with the city of Concord to come up with solutions that take everyone’s needs into account.
I want to address a comment that has been repeated every time the issue of homelessness comes up — namely, that if I care about those who are unsheltered, I should take them home to live in my backyard or living room.
The reality is that everyone has a need for private, personal space (us and also the unhoused).
It’s important when working or volunteering with vulnerable populations that we maintain appropriate professional boundaries. Otherwise, we risk burnout and become no longer useful to anyone.
Hypocrite
Ahhhh, Bonnie…..
More NIMBYism under the guise of them “needing privacy.”
Put up tents in your backyard. Problem solved.
The people are taxed beyond what is reasonable and the politicians continue their organized theft and lying to the people.
Nope.
This isn’t hypocritical because I’m not suggesting that you house people on your personal property either. I’m suggesting that we use public land (owned by the city) to set up safe areas where people can sleep and provide sanitation services so they can keep the area clean.
I would absolutely welcome people camping on the city properties closest to my house. Most people do prefer to be near commercial areas so they can access restaurants, stores, and public transit, though, so setting up camps in residential areas is generally not preferred.
@bonniebrownhair…If you don’t mind telling us, what government agency signs your check? You seem to have the “pat” answers and pablum that all the Social Service agencies spew.
I’m not a government employee. I’m an elementary school teacher at a private school, and I volunteer with the unhoused in my free time because I see there’s a crisis and I want to help.
@ BonnieBrownHair – When do you raise your kids? Not believing your story. Not a Concord resident, and doubt you have children. You are not there for them. Weekends, nights and weekday protests. 2 kids, right.
This has certainly been an unusually busy week! I normally just volunteer on Sunday mornings, and my older child comes with me (while the younger stays home with my husband). My older child told me a few months ago that he wanted to start volunteering to help those in need, so that’s actually why I started going out and feeding the unhoused — it’s something we do together.
But, yeah, this week has been rough! Every day since Sunday, we’ve either been going to protests or trying to help people relocate yet again (because their tents keep getting tagged for removal, even when they move to what should be legal, city-owned locations). It’s exhausting — but it’s even harder on the unhoused Concord residents who keep getting pushed around from place to place.
I work for a public agency that frequently deals with the homeless. Back in the early 90’s we were tasked with clearing out a large homeless encampment along 242 (I believe this was one of the first “community” homeless camps in the area,) They were given notice 30 days in advance of the impending clean up and told what to expect. This was coordinated with City and County agencies to try and make it as painless a process as possible. Our crew arrived on the scene first and the residents threatened us with bats and sticks and threw bottles at us. When the media arrived they immediately went into a group huddle and starting sobbing for the cameras (once the media departed the threats resumed.) During this time the city of Concord had arranged for a bus to transport them to a shelter with room and a truck to transport their belongings. None of them took advantage of this. All of the residents (that I saw) were in their 20’s and 30’s and seemingly able bodied. Sometime during this process local law enforcement arrived and did a survey of the camp where quantities of drugs and stolen property was discovered. This group was not the victims they made themselves out to be and refused help when it was offered. This event had a lasting impact on me on how I view the homeless problem.
My computer screwed me on my last comment,it pulled a microsoft and inverted in sentence into another,and right as my battery went dead and you cant buy a battery unless you order it online..Thanks Bill Gates.
“one sentence into another” ..
Could the homelessness situation have gotten this bad unless it was planned? Is it really just incompetence by government? The separation between rich and poor is getting greater and greater, with only one-half of one percent of California taxpayers paying 40% of all California personal income taxes according to one source while there is a growing army of homeless. The Democrats seem driven to widen the gap, exporting manufacturing and other middle class jobs to China and importing illegals. It made a big impression on me a few years ago when I visited the CPUSA (Communist Party of the USA) website and one of their Powerpoint presentations after Trump became president was to focus on race and create a mass anti-racism movement to create division.
Bonniebrownhair, while we fundamentally disagree on this topic, I just have to commend you for not only your compassion but how you maintain dignity and decorum in your posts despite the rancor you are receiving. Well done.
Thank you!
Well Bobbie,they were all offered a place to stay today,and they all refused,because they are all metally ill,according to the city..Getting mixed up with these people will get you hurt or killed.No good deed goes unpunished.Don;t feed the bears.
There is actually WAY more to the story than that. Concord police and the city council are both trying to perpetuate this story (that there is plenty of shelter space, but everyone refused help just because they don’t like rules).
I’m actually working on writing out a coherent narrative of what we know so far (after talking with Concord PD, shelter staff, CORE team members, and multiple unhoused residents).
I’ll post it here once I get it written, but it’s pretty long, and I need to go play with my kids now.
(Yes, Time To Go — the kids actually do exist.)
Telling the truth is not perpetuating the story,it ends it.You ere perpetuating it by saying something isnt true.They were offered a place at the shelter,they can’t slam dope or smoke meth or drink at the shelter and they have to be inside by 9pm,so they said no.Their entire life is doing what they want.Living at the shelter,they may as well live with their family.but that didnt work,there is rules,but not when you live in someones field.
Feel sorry for the businesses that suffer from this. Can’t use a restroom as a paying customer without asking for a key. If this problem isn’t addressed now, it’s going to get a lot worse. Life is full of choices. Cite them for trespassing on private property and offer them mental concealing. They are a black eye for the city of Concord. That’s why I don’t shop there anymore.
Think of the money.each one of these people spend per day on their habit..it’s staggering..the amount of theft victims daily it takes to maintain their high.As the camp moves,so do the burglary,theft,robbery and assault reports.How quickly Concord forgets the 80’s,and the murders in Concord by homeless/tweakers..Do a web search for Richard Allen Goodfellow.Enjoy.
Have been reading most of these comments. My add to this is that yes, this is a complex issue, but allowing it to continue is a decision and enabling. What about the “working poor” who bust tail to work everyday, trying to make ends meet, and food on the table. We also count. We are the fools paying the taxes. The homeless, or whatever you wish to name it does not take priority over EVERYONE. Sick of this attitude that we don’t count. We need to give up our parks, and any form of beauty, once we get home from work, and worry about dealing with drug users, choosing to destroy themselves and all around, including our beautiful city. We have a right to NOT have to have trash, needles, dangerous filthy conditions, feces, and crazy drugged up users right in our faces, and have to put up with it. We had a family in our quiet neighborhood who rented and destroyed our little quiet place, with drug runs, shootings, destroying our neighbors new car, dogs with feces on their driveway and doing drug runs every 20 min to the shopping parking lots near by. Finally they were arrested for raping (both son and father) an underage girl. It only takes one small group to ruin so many lives and neighborhood. After living through that mess, we are all done with it. I spoke to friends who came from Soviet Russia and they said this would never be tolerated. You would be sent away to break rocks, or just never be seen again.
To add/correction: Chosen Drug users. If help has been offered, and they refuse then what. Lock them up and force treatment or what? They certainly cannot change their condition unless they Take Responsibility. This is how life works in the real world, not the Woke S, make believe fantasy. If you don’t plant your garden and tend it, then you don’t have food to harvest, and to put in your mouth. It’s called survival. Not constant handouts. This is how the real world is.
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