Citizen homelessness committee discusses ways to ‘Take Back Lodi’

Lodi Grape Festival CEO Mark Armstrong and Lodi Homeless Liaison Officer Ryan Holz updated citizens on the progress of their efforts to combat homelessness in Lodi on Thursday night at the Grape Festival Grounds.

During the meeting, Armstrong explained that in the past four or five years there had been an increase in the amount of homeless people loitering around the Grape Festival facility as well as city parks and the river. He said not only is there a big increase in the city’s homeless population, but there is also a lot of trash and debris as a result.

He said he felt there wasn’t a lot of action coming from the other homelessness committees, and he decided to take matters into his own hands to create his own group.

At least 100 people showed up at the first meeting in June, which showed just how many people have concerns about Lodi’s homeless problem, Armstrong said.

Since that meeting, Armstrong said he picked 10 to 12 people from those who attended the initial meeting and that group had a few additional meetings. From those meetings they were able to figure out what direction they wanted to go and how to get started. They were also able to come up with a name for the group: “Take Back Lodi.”

“The thinking behind it is take back the river, take back the parks, take back the streets and take back what we’re unhappy about,” he said.

He said he has been working with the Grape Festival graphic artist to come up with a logo for the group as well. In addition to the name and logo they have also created a Facebook page under their new name. The page will be a place for residents to discuss how to deal with the city’s homelessness issue and voice concerns.

During the series of meeting the group also decided that cleaning up the river was one of its main goals. He informed those at Thursday night’s meeting that the city’s Watershed Program coordinator, Kathy Grant, was hosting the annual river clean-up on Sept. 16, and she would like more volunteers. She also needs more supervisors and people to bring boats so they can cover more area. Those interested can email Grant at kgrant@lodi.gov.

Armstrong said some of the groups’ other priorities were to look at ways to pick up around town and possibly adopt a highway. For those interested in adopting a highway or who have concerns about a particular roadway, Armstrong said they should contact Caltrans. He said there is a place on Caltrans’ website where they can complain about the problem areas in their city.

“The more people they hear from the better,” he said.

Another issue the group is looking to tackle is the city’s shopping cart problem, Armstrong said. He said those who spot abandoned shopping carts can bring them to the festival grounds. If they are unable to pick them up, Armstrong said they can call him at 209-360-2771, text him at 209327-1165 or email him at

and he or someone else will come pick them up. He asked that no one bring shopping carts to the festival grounds during the week of the festival.

Armstrong said the group also plans to clean behind the Awani Housing Development near the river every fourth Friday. They hope to have code enforcement post a 72-hour notice and then have a group of volunteers go clean the area. He said Holz has already done a good job deterring people from coming down there and the number of people camping there has decreased from 20 to two or three.

Holz updated everyone on his role as the homeless liaison and why the city created the position. He said he had been able to help 28 people reunite with families or get into various programs to help get them off the streets. He has also been working to get shopping carts off the streets and has been in contact with at least 100 people in regards to the homeless issue.