Cella Jones had left for only a few hours Tuesday morning, but when she returned to her tent -- which had been covered with a blue tarp to keep out the rain -- she found it cut open and her box spring, mattress and water had been moved outside. Homeless outreach staff had been waiting for her to return, but an "abatement" crew had been given the go-ahead to begin clearing one of Richmond’s largest homeless encampments.
Although she returned a few minutes after they began, she was too late.
Jones’ other belongings were visible, laid bare in her splayed-out tent — a pile of clothing, folders with documents, shoes, dry foods and some dishes. She packed up what she wanted to take while the work crews watched, with loud, beeping bulldozers ready to sweep through when she was done. One member of the crew gave her an empty blue recycling bin to hold what she wanted to keep. She packed her essentials and rolled the bin down the street, leaving the destroyed tent and pile of clothing behind.
Within 30 minutes, the spot where she’d lived for the last year had been cleared, covered by mulch, and landscaping boulders were being placed, intended to keep people like Jones from returning, as she had three times before.
Jones, a lifelong Richmond resident who has been camping since her car was impounded in 2014, had been living at the site at 22nd Street and Carlson Boulevard for nearly a year. About 30 to 60 people had lived at the encampment. Jones said it had worked well for her because it was next to resources at the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program, or GRIP.
“I’ve been here, close to the facilities, so I can maintain my health and self-worth,” said Jones, who went to GRIP daily for food and to use the bathroom, telephone and laundry facilities, and to collect mail. She said she has tried to get into shelters, but they were often full and can be restrictive. When she left the encampment, she had nowhere to go.
People began setting up tents at the central Richmond site in early 2018. The tents flanked a wide transportation corridor situated near BART and Amtrak lines.
Tim Higares, director of Richmond’s Department of Infrastructure and Maintenance Operations, said the encampment had become a public health and safety risk and a drain on city resources. He said crews had to come multiple times a week to clear sometimes hazardous debris and a growing vermin issue in the area.
“Everyone understands that this is a health and safety hazard," Higares said. "We’re doing this not only for the general public health. We’re doing it for (the homeless residents’) health and safety, too."
However, residents and homeless groups say a local shelter shortage and the wider Bay Area housing crisis have made it tough for them to find permanent homes. The camp had grown from about a dozen people since September during the city’s most recent attempt to clear it.
