Campbell Homeless Problem Ended By CalTrans

Campbell resident Scott Cofer first alerted Campbell Patch about the issue with homeless encampments behind his apartment complex via the Campbell Patch facebook page. Here is Campbell Police's response to how they handle the homeless in the Orchard City.

Last month we were talking about the homeless encampment between the sound wall on 17 south of Hamilton and the back fence of our condo complex on Union. Well, it got progressively worse, to the point where I was calling the police almost daily with another story about the bold homeless people hopping over the back fence.

One guy came climbing over the fence while I was putting my recycling in the bin and asked me for a cigarette. Seriously dude? In fact, one of our neighbors came home to find the screen removed from her back window. Not cool.

Anyway, my lovely wife decided to take a different tack. The police had been out many times to no avail, so she filed a written report with CalTrans. Earlier this week I heard activity over the fence and, lo and behold, there was a team in orange vests cleaning up! They did a great job! In fact, I think they got the whole space from the east side of the Campbell Avenue tunnel on down. Kudos to CalTrans!

And don't take this as a criticism of the Campbell PD. They came out numerous times, spoke to the people and issued orders to vacate; however, they've got limited resources. It's like putting up flypaper when you really need to tent the house. CalTrans came through like a steamroller. If the homeless try to move back in, they'll be starting from scratch.

--Scott Cofer, Campbell resident