Homeless camp cleared; up to 150 lived there after wildfires
A sprawling homeless camp in southern Santa Rosa that swelled to more than 150 people after the North Bay wildfires was cleared by authorities Thursday.
Many tent dwellers disappeared into nearby woodlands and fields when several dozen firefighters and police officers showed up in the early morning to clear the camp in the Roseland section of town.
Authorities were enforcing a court order that the camp be empty by the end of the day. When they arrived, most of the tent dwellers were packing or already heading out with shopping carts and backpacks, or in ramshackle cars. The sweep proceeded with an air of gloomy quiet.
Outreach counselors from the nonprofit Catholic Charities worked throughout the winter and spring to get people living in the camp into shelter or housing. By Thursday they had ushered more than 50 inside and designed tentative housing plans for 50 more.
About 50 people lived in the camp before the fires swept through the North Bay in October. The subsequent influx swelled its population to more than 150, making it the biggest homeless camp in Sonoma County.
By Thursday’s evacuation date, set by a fed-
eral judge’s order, more than 50 people still lived on the windswept parking lots behind a Dollar Tree store.
“We knew we had to leave, so what can you do but go?” said Tesla Meyer, 55, who stuffed the family car with bundles and blankets and relocated to a field a couple of miles away. “It’s sad to see this dismantled. The camp had troubles, yeah, but not everyone has somewhere else to go.”
Meyer is one of the lucky ones: She got a rent-subsidy voucher from a Catholic Charities outreach counselor last week and believes she will find a new home by next month.
“I can understand why people are anxious,” said Margaret Van Vliet, director of the county Community Development Commission, which oversees homeless programs. “There’s a lack of trust. Some people had bad experiences with shelters, and we’ve made improvements over the past year but not everybody knows that.
“I’m very hopeful that most folks here have gotten into our coordinated entry system for services. We’re trying very hard to help everyone.”
The camp was ordered cleared because the county has approved plans for a new development on the land. The project will include 175 apartments, about half of which will be affordable housing.
Kevin Fagan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kfagan@sfchronicle.com