Reversing Flow of River Denizens

There was little doubt the river bottom colony would reemerge.

Even as floodwaters a decade ago washed away the sprawling homeless encampment tucked in the underbrush of the Ventura River and police declared the area off-limits, few believed that squatters could be prevented from returning to a place that has drawn the down-and-out since at least World War II.

Today, at least 150 people make their homes on the white sand floor west of Ventura, living in plywood shacks and nylon tents staked deep in the dry riverbed. As many as 50 camps occupy a two-mile stretch, forming a vagabond village swollen more each year by hard luck and hard times.

Now once again the encampment has become the focus of law enforcement, community leaders and homeless advocates worried about the safety of river bottom dwellers amid predictions of heavy winter rain. Floodwaters drowned two squatters in separate storms in the 1990s.

Seeking to avoid more fatalities, police intend to begin uprooting transients in early December, when Ventura’s winter shelter opens.

With that deadline looming, 150 people met last week to discuss ways to pluck residents from the river bottom and provide them housing, jobs and other services. They also discussed long-term solutions for keeping squatters out, citing concerns about the homeless fouling the river.

River bottom residents who attended Wednesday’s meeting said they would take any help they could get, although some remained skeptical.

“Unless they are just going to nuke us all down here, we are going to have to have some place to go,” said Doc Doyle, 50, who lives with his girlfriend, Bonnie Talley, and two other men in a river bottom camp flanked by American flags and ringed by bamboo.

“But I don’t think they plan to make it wonderful for everyone down here,” he said. “People have different reasons for being here. I just hope they can find solutions that work for everybody.”

There have been efforts before to reclaim the river bottom, a hobo jungle created by railroad tramps below the point where the Southern Pacific train trestle straddles the Ventura River.

In the early- and mid-1990s, Ventura council members proposed campgrounds for the riverbed dwellers after torrential rains and flooding forced transients to scramble for higher ground.

While the campgrounds never materialized, Ventura city and county officials used money and momentum generated by the floods to plot a sweeping strategy for river bottom residents, creating a model assistance program that helped dozens of squatters find housing and jobs.

But slowly, despite new city laws banning river bottom camping, the population began to build up again.

“There were other concerns, other demands, that intruded on that particular one,” Assistant Police Chief Pat Miller said. “It’s not like [the buildup] happened in a month. It was a very gradual process.”

The encampment is now as large as it has been in a decade. And while it is not as visible as it once was, the rising population has again caused problems that have long plagued the river bottom. In pockets, it could still be mistaken for a city dump. Garbage collects in thick mounds, while old shopping carts and broken bicycles rust on the river floor.

Concerns persist about environmental damage and the lack of sanitary facilities. There have been 28 river bottom fires this year. And over the past two years, police have responded to 120 calls concerning assaults, disorderly conduct and other offenses. Police note that river bottom dwellers often are victims, pointing to the 2001 beating death of a riverbed transient by skinheads.

“Somewhere along the way homelessness evolved into a police issue, but it’s not a police issue. It’s a human issue,” Miller said. “Are we going to solve the homeless issue in Ventura, let alone the United States? I don’t think so. But I think it’s at least incumbent upon us to try.”

And so Miller and others gathered last week at an auditorium behind the San Buenaventura Mission to plan a new strategy. Those interested included city and county officials, downtown merchants, religious leaders and the homeless and their advocates.

Breaking into groups, they talked about ways to house river bottom residents after they are removed and how to keep transients from resettling on the river floor. They discussed the need to push forward with plans to build a permanent year-round shelter in Ventura and how, in the meantime, leaders should explore options such as creating a tent city or providing inexpensive lodging at beach campgrounds.

They explored ways to beef up services for those who suffer from drug and alcohol addictions or mental health problems. And they talked about finding ways to overcome the mistrust held by many river bottom residents about efforts to lend them a hand.

“You’ve done your part,” Ventura City Manager Rick Cole told members of a group he was leading. “But if you want to stay with us and solve this thing, we need your help.”

Many of those in attendance agreed to meet again this week to build on the momentum, even as some river bottom residents expressed concern about ulterior motives.

“Right now there are a lot of people who think the city just wants to get rid of them,” said Bob Riese, an unemployed printer who makes his river bottom home in the yawning gap between concrete slabs holding up the Ventura Freeway. “But I believe something can be done that will help everyone involved.”