1. Prevent and reduce homelessness and housing insecurity:
- Find housing for the people who want it and will remain housed. This includes offering safe parking spaces with bathrooms and security. There needs to be options for people with pets. Offering housing is especially important during the cold and rainy season and after natural disasters like fires. At these times, there is usually a higher rate of displacement. It is critical to build trust with people in encampments and individuals experiencing housing insecurity. Talk to nonprofits with experience in this area about measures for engagement and maintaining contact.
- Collect, analyze, and share information about people living in encampments near waterways. When possible, ask why they chose to live here and learn more about their lifestyle here. For example, ask how they dispose of trash and how they’d like to dispose of trash if given resources like trash cans, a dedicated dumpster, etc. Ask how they get clean and whether they’d prefer to have a mobile shower and/or laundry visit where they live or get transported to and from a services center or shelter. Communicate with nonprofits, religious institutions like churches, and government agencies about findings.
- Ensure that all people in encampments are heard. For example, listen to residents of recreational vehicles and residents in tents.
Before and After photos of a clean-up of an encampment near Calabazas Creek in Santa Clara County. Credit: Valley Water
2. Actions that reduce the severity and frequency of harm posed by encampments:
- Talk to local government officials about methods to make it a goal to disallow and discourage encampments along waterways.
- Offer showers and laundry services with mobile units on-site if possible and off-site if residents are open to transport or assistance options.
- Offer Port-O-Potties for bathrooms.
- Offer equipment like a “dishwashing kit” and a “light laundry kit” with materials such as plastic tubs and eco friendly soap with instructions for use. These should emphasize not dumping soapy water in waterways.
- Provide trash cans and on-site or nearby opportunities to dispose of certain types of waste, such as biohazards like needles used for drug intake and e-waste like lithium batteries. Empty trash cans frequently. Also do targeted outreach during red flag or flooding conditions. Monitor for alternative uses of trash cans such as:
- use in incidents of arson
- opportunities to light fires and keep warm during the cold
- opportunities to cause physical harm to people and personal property
- use of trash cans as storage containers.
- Provide materials for residents to collect trash, like plastic trash bags. See which materials are favored by residents and do not contribute to more waste. Collect full trash bags to take to the dump on a regular basis.
- Clean-ups of abandoned camps and of active camps where organizations like nonprofits and local governments have built up trust with encampment residents. Keeping tabs on which camps are active and which have been abandoned is helpful. It is a good idea to create maps of active and abandoned camps noting:
- Locations
- The dates and frequency of clean-ups
- What types of waste were present
- Whether waste was observed close to or in a waterway
- Whether plants and the soil near the waterway were altered
- The dates, types, and frequency of criminal activities occurring at camps. If possible and necessary, track warrants attached to criminal cases that relate to persons and property at camps. This helps to ensure the safety of people living in camps and those working in and around them. Tracking criminal activities related to littering as well as drug possession and drug sales gives those engaging in clean-ups an idea of what types of waste they may encounter. This helps them bring the appropriate supplies and containers to remove waste.
- Encourage the use of compostable materials for dining. Also explain how to dispose of these materials properly. Encourage the use of compostable cutlery and plates in nearby restaurants.
- Check-in with camp residents before, during, and after severe weather events such as heavy rains and localized flooding. Assist with clean-up and relocation as needed.
- Post signs (if residents will not remove them) and offer public education materials about how waste affects fish.
- Develop “good citizen” programs where residents of encampments and housed residents living near encampments can get vouchers for rewards and/or necessities such as food, coupons for haircuts, etc. for helping with clean-up or habitat restoration work. Remain mindful of opportunities for fraud, such as the sale of gift cards.
Housed volunteers living near encampments are good candidates to assist with clean-up efforts because they live next door. They do not have to travel to the clean-up site. Also, once they are trained in how to engage in clean-up efforts, they may share this information and perhaps even supplies provided by a nonprofit, city, or government agency with friends, neighbors, and family members to engage in “mini” clean-ups on their own.
3. Monitor encampments and areas near them for public dumping. California Fish and Game Code Section 5650 prohibits depositing any substance or material that is harmful to fish, plant life, mammals, or bird life. Law enforcement officers from cities and counties may not frequently enforce this code, so working with state game wardens is critical.
If there is industrial waste such as carpet or wood, work with local law enforcement to identify and penalize wrongful acts.
If there is household waste such as dumping of furniture, engage in clean-up and removal. Find ways to discourage people in encampments from collecting and utilizing such items.
4. Encouraging discussion with people in encampments and the general public:
- Good starting points include, “What was the river you grew up with? What is your river now? How do you take care of your river?”
- explain how poaching, manmade barriers, pollution, human activity like frequent crossings of a stream, and modification of the natural environment negatively affect fish.
4. Increase barriers to waterways, such as putting up fencing near streams and creeks. This can be very difficult in a floodplain where the water body may destroy the barriers. The barriers may also form debris jams after a flood. When engaging in this action, track how such changes impact fish and other species, as well as clean-up efforts and recreational and government access to waterways.