ESCONDIDO (KGTV) — Shopping carts filled with sleeping bags and clothes, homeless people wandering aimlessly on the streets of an Escondido neighborhood. Many of them with nowhere to go after the city broke apart the encampment they’d been living in by the creek.
"It's overwhelming just initially because I wasn't sure where I was going to go," said Christina Magana. "They just said you need to move spots. What exactly that means I don't know."
Magana and around 60 others have called the Escondido creek 'home' for the last year. They set up makeshift shelters and created a community by the water. But the city of Escondido says they should not be here. Trash and human waste has contaminated the water. The city's initial testing came back with high levels of bacteria that were unsafe for human contact.
"What I noticed today was a giant travesty overall," said Escondido Mayor Dane White. "People are left to live in their own filth in a creekbed."
On Sunday, the city declared a local emergency to address the contamination. This allowed police to clear the area Monday. Officers say they spent the last few days notifying people of this cleanup, so there was little resistance. They're hopeful people will not return.
"It's going to take some investment from the city, but that's what we're trying for," said Lt. Jeff Valdivia "The best we can commit to is the police department will do a lot more patrolling here to try to keep the area clear."
The people living by the creek comprised around 15% of Escondido’s homeless population. A small portion, but there’s nowhere for them to go. According to Interfaith Community Services, there are only 15 general shelter beds in the city. So while the relocation could help clean up the creek water, it won't solve the overall problem.
"Right now we do not have enough shelter beds, treatment programs, or emergency housing programs for the people being displaced today," said Greg Anglea, the CEO of Interfaith Community Services.
Mayor Dane White says he plans to create a new shelter in the next year.
