SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Caltrans removed a homeless camp on W and 9th streets in Sacramento on Wednesday morning. This comes as the designated camping and parking area nearby is now at capacity.
Tucked underneath Highway 50, Maurice Boid found a place to call home for the past six months alongside dozens of others who had nowhere else left to go.
"This morning, I was woken up by a sheriff being very rude to me, telling me to get up and it was not my playground anymore," Boid said.
Caltrans says their protocol is to post a notice within 72 hours before doing a cleanup. They confirmed with ABC10 that it was posted on Friday of last week.
"But I never got a notice, and I told him I just want to gather my shoes and clothes and, hopefully, my mom's ashes," he said. "I was just sad; I was tearing up and everything. It was devastating."
Neighbor Sherwin Aria has watched the view from his window on W Street change drastically over the past year and a half.
"We come home sometimes and just see them sitting on our porch, just charging their stuff and using our water to shower," Aria said.
He says he now locks up his water and electrical outlets.
Caltrans says they did this cleanup after several neighbors submitted formal customer service requests to them.
"We've always been trying to get the city to do something about it but they never really do, so seeing something finally happen is pretty nice," Aria said.
But only three blocks up the road, the city's Safe Ground camping area where those experiencing homelessness are able to legally and safely camp, with access to bathrooms and running water, is already at capacity.
"We need vouchers or something, just to put us out with nowhere to go and be cold shouldered about it is really jacked up," Boid said.
The city is in the process of implementing its comprehensive plan to address homelessness. While more Safe Grounds are in the works, a city spokesperson couldn't give a timeline on when they might open.
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