Editor’s Note – The Tulloch Journal is publishing a series of articles on the issue of homelessness in the city. In the coming weeks, we’ll look at this complex problem from a variety of perspectives: from law enforcement, city government, nonprofit and faith-based groups, neighboring communities, and the homeless themselves. Today, we continue our series by talking directly with business owners whose establishments have been affected by homelessness.
Most of us can avoid homeless people. Whether it’s on the street or in a park, we can pretend that we don’t see what we see.
Turlock business owners deal with recent homelessness every day.
You can’t turn around.
Since the homeless camps were disbanded earlier this year, Tullok’s homeless population is no longer located in one general area. Like dandelions in the wind, spores drift into the center of the city and waft through the streets.
It’s not that there aren’t more homeless people in Turlock — a point-in-time survey conducted by Stanislaus County earlier this year showed the city’s homeless population had dropped by 10 percent. Now they are more visible.
No longer out of sight and out of mind.
Although the overall numbers are down, many business owners believe the problem is getting worse. Some say homeless people are becoming more violent and more dangerous.
Last summer, a group of downtown business owners began collecting photos of homeless people sleeping on doorsteps and the garbage and waste left behind. Those photos were posted on the Facebook page.
It was a cry for help.
“We wanted to call the town,” says Jenny Roots Sosa, owner of Rustic Roots on Main Street. “Like, hey, hi, we could use a little help here. We can no longer handle it on our own.
The Journal spoke with four downtown business owners: Roots Sousa, Ken Kelleher, owner of Gallery Finesse on Main Street. Jennifer Jensen, co-owner of Main Street Antiques; and Lisa Wilson, owner of Main Street Bottoms.
They all have similar stories. All have seen homelessness often and up close. Everyone thinks it is increasing. All are desperate for a solution.
“You definitely see new faces every week,” Wilson said. “For the most part, it’s not a problem for us, but sometimes we have homeless people go through our dumpsters looking for something to eat.”
Wilson is the furthest north on Main Street, and the other three establishments are closer to Golden State Boulevard.
“I don’t want to come off as a whiny prima donna, but we spend every day trying to prevent this,” Kelleher said.
As an example, he points to the area behind the gallery, not far from Main and Golden State, where he can see the remains of a makeshift fire on the pavement outside the back door.
“I’m scared to death of the behavior around here,” he said. “I’ve spent my whole life working for myself, and I could lose everything on planet earth for being allowed to be allowed on planet city.”
Downtown business owners have taken photos of homeless individuals over the past several months to highlight the negative impact their customers have on feeling safe to shop and eat downtown (photo provided).
Jensen said she was stunned by the situation.
“Yeah, I’m a little numb, I guess,” she said. “Sometimes, they would come into the store and yell at me, but then they would go along.
Nail technician Jill Hart has worked at Swoon Salon and Spa for seven years. For the past five, she sits 10 feet from the sidewalk and stares out a large window. She has a front row seat to events happening downtown.
“I’ve seen people looking in front of trees, walking around naked, breaking things,” Hart said. “I really feel for these people. I gave them leftovers, blankets… But at some point, I feel like I can, because some of them simply choose to live this way. It’s sad.
“I’ve had clients sit at my station and constantly look over their shoulders. And I had to walk some of them to their cars. At worst, we close and lock the door. I put my jewelry in my drawer.
Roots Sousa also tried to be compassionate, going so far as to hire homeless people to do odd jobs for her. But she also received threats of violence.
“Someone came in and threatened to shoot me in the face,” she said.
Like Hart, she’s seen it all.
“I’ve seen people having sex, I’ve seen oral sex, I’ve seen people masturbate. I mean, come on, nobody wants their kids to see something like that.
Nicole Larson is a Tulloch council member from District 1, where all of these businesses are located. She was just as frustrated as her constituents.
“I’m frustrated that there haven’t been many effective actions at the local level,” said Larson, who is not seeking re-election in November. “Furthermore, there is a level of disagreement about how much we can do at the local level and what can be done at the county and state level. It is to coordinate all the three regions so that the problem can be solved adequately.
To illustrate the importance of collaboration, Larson pointed out that the city of Turlock does not have its own mental health services department. Stanislaus County, for its part, does.
“I can’t tell my folks we’re going to create a mental health unit in Tulloch. There’s no way. They don’t want their tax dollars going to duplicate services.”
Therefore, a cooperative and coordinated strategy is needed.
“The homeless spectrum is so vast that when we say ‘homeless,’ who are we talking about?” said Larson. “Are we talking about people who are down on their luck and can’t afford a home? Are we talking about someone who desperately needs mental health services? Or we are talking about a person who does not want to participate in social services and prefers to use the legal conflict that we have in Boise’s decision.
Martin v. Boise (Idaho) is a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that basically says homeless people can’t be cited for anti-camping provisions if there aren’t enough beds in a city’s homeless shelter to accommodate them. .
In other words, homelessness cannot be criminalized, and this leads to restrictions on homeless calls to local law enforcement.
“We care deeply about their businesses succeeding and thriving in Tulloch,” Police Chief Jason Hedden said.
In the meantime, business owners are often left to fend for themselves.
“Look, I’m not trying to pick on the mentally ill, but why are the business owners of Turlock going through this?” Kelleher said. he said.
