Authorities clearing out homeless camp
The Jungle, in the heart of wealthy Silicon Valley, is one of the nation’s largest such areas for the displaced.
san jose, calif. » Police and social-service workers on Thursday began clearing away one of the nation’s largest homeless encampments, a cluster of flimsy tents and plywood shelters that once housed more than 200 people in the heart ofwealthy SiliconValley.
Al Palaces, a former truck driver whomoved in about eight months ago, was among those ordered to leave the camp, known as the Jungle, which city officials have been trying to eliminate for years.
“I just grabbedwhatever I could because I don’twant to go to jail,” he said, standing next to an overloaded shopping cart stuffedwith muddy plastic bags.
OnMonday, people living in the camp were given until dawn Thursday to leave or face arrest for trespassing. By Thursday morning, about 60 people were left at the muddy, garbage-strewn site.
Nancy Ortega sobbed as she watched tractors load garbage into trash trucks. A passing mo- torist shouted at those who had just been evicted.
“People drive by and look at us likewe’re circus animals,” she said.
Many people had trouble dragging their belongings out of the camp through ankle-deep mud.
“It’s junk to everyone else. But to us, these are our homes,” said Ortega, who said she had been in and out of jail and struggled with addiction and mental illness.
By midmorning, dozens had been moved out after abandoning most of their possessions, but some of the homeless remained.
Valentine Cortes, who said he was a journeyman construction worker, had no plans to leave his makeshift shelter built into a steep, muddy slope.
“I don’t knowwhy people got all chaotic today,” he said. “We don’t have to go.”
Asked about the warning that anyone who stays could be jailed, he shrugged and said, “Then I guess I’ll be arrested.”
Animals roamed the squaremile camp, some of them pets and others wild. Rats ran through the muck.
A few dozen protesters gathered at the site holding signs reading, “Homeless people matter” and “Stand with The Jungle.”
The encampment stands in contrast to the surrounding valley, a region that leads the country in job growth, income and venture capital. Palaces said he liked the Jungle better than the streets because people would bring food but not bother the residents.
“Even a job wouldn’t give me a house” because housing prices are so high, he said.
Officials planned to try to find shelter for the night for those homeless people connected with social services.
Anyone not linked with social services still has to leave, said San Jose homelessness response manager Ray Bramson.
Several homeless-assistance groups stepped in to help.