Turlock homeless sweeps hurt downtown businesses, owners say. What can the city do?
Before the city of Turlock began sweeping homeless encampments in March, LeRoy Walker and his staff cleaned human feces, urine and vomit outside Bistro 234 once or twice a month.
Now, after about 20 people moved downtown, Walker said they find waste on the front door step and garbage area multiple times a week.
Several downtown Turlock business owners say they are also dealing with an increase in trash, vandalism and people living on the streets acting aggressively in the wake of the sweeps. Some owners called on the city to change its approach to homelessness and others raised concerns over the issues deterring customers.
“I feel like the city cannot just sweep the encampments and expect the people to disappear,” said Noel Dickey, owner of 1507 Boutique. “It’s hurting our businesses.”
Clearing the encampments has pushed unsheltered people to move further down Highway 99, Dickey said, and center around downtown businesses. The day of the sweep along West Glenwood Avenue near the Lander Avenue highway exit, Dickey said people from the encampment began setting up tents on the property of 10 East Kitchen and Tap House. Dickey can see the restaurant, which is adjacent to Central Park, from her boutique across the street.
Paramjit Sanghera, owner of 10 East, said he recently saw 10 to 15 people living in Central Park. Since the sweeps, Sanghera said some unsheltered people have destroyed his bushes, left trash in front of the kitchen door and dug through the restaurant’s dumpsters and threw scraps on the ground.
His staff tries to do their part, Sanghera said, by bringing all furniture inside when they close and locking the patio and electrical outlets. Sanghera has dealt with homelessness since he began owning 10 East in 2018, but he said the issues have worsened every day since the sweeps began in March. When a man at Central Park cussed and yelled last Tuesday, Sanghera said he worried customers would not feel safe to leave their cars.
“I’m scared,” Sanghera said. “I don’t know what surprise I’m gonna get.”
Turlock businesses, homeless woman see new faces
Walker, co-owner of Bistro 234 and First & Main restaurants, and others said they have seen new people living on downtown streets since the sweeps. Previously, a group of unsheltered people left the public alone, Walker said. Some of the downtown community embraced them, Walker said, adding he recognizes regulars over his 21 years owning Bistro 234.
But many of the about 20 to 25 new people act more agitated and aggressive, Walker said, possibly because of mental health issues. Incidents of unsheltered people shouting at customers, standing near them and whispering to them, have increased, Walker said. He further raised concerns over how these issues may deter customers from visiting downtown.
“I’m not against the homeless,” Walker said. “What I’m against is the inequality or inequity of balancing out who is having to deal with this on a daily basis.”
One homeless woman in Central Park Tuesday morning also said she has seen new people living on the streets of downtown Turlock after the sweeps. The woman, who declined to give her name for safety reasons, said she has lived downtown for about six years. Besides her, four others were sitting or lying down at the park with their belongings that morning.
“They’re causing a lot of chaos,” the woman said of the newcomers. “They’re actually out stealing from everybody. They’re causing a lot of problems in this town.”
Customers of Bella Forte Boutique, owner Julie Loforti said, have called staff asking if it is safe to come inside since Union Pacific swept the encampment along the railroad at South First Street. Customers sometimes do not want to enter the store at Broadway and West Main Street to pick up orders while unsheltered people are yelling outside, Loforti said.
During the week of the Union Pacific sweep in early March, Loforti said a man carrying bags repeatedly shook her locked door and screamed “let me in” and “open up” around dusk. She heard the commotion from the boutique’s office area. The man didn’t have anything in his hands to break in and eventually walked away talking to himself, Loforti said.
When she left, she saw the man at the other end of the street still carrying his belongings. The next day, Loforti said people were sleeping under her awning. Since then, Loforti, who has run the store for about 10 years, said her business’ problems with homelessness have only increased.
Contact with Turlock Police varies
How much business owners have contacted the city about these issues varies. Loforti’s staff has called the non-emergency police phone number twice to report problems since the Union Pacific sweep. Sanghera, owner of 10 East, said he plans to sign a request for police to put a trespassing notice on his property. But Sanghera also questioned how much police can patrol the area with the department’s current staffing levels.
Walker has not contacted the city about the sweeps. He said he is more worried about keeping his restaurants afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, Dickey raised her concerns in public comments during the last regular City Council meeting. She told the Bee she has called the police department multiple times and talked with Interim Chief Steven Williams, too.
Instead of sweeping a third homeless encampment, Dickey recommended the city increase police patrols downtown. To connect unsheltered people with resources, Dickey also said assigning a county outreach worker to Turlock every day may help. The city has said county outreach workers visited encampments multiple times before sweeps, but Dickey said dedicating a full-time county outreach worker to Turlock could make a difference.
Other possibilities include setting up pallet homes or a low-barrier shelter similar to the one at the Salvation Army Berberian Shelter at Ninth and D streets in Modesto, Dickey said. She recommended looking into a low-barrier shelter away from downtown Turlock. One way Modesto’s low-barrier shelter differs from others is that it allows people to stay during the daytime for services related to mental health, substance abuse, job search and legal matters.
Sanghera likewise said encampment sweeps do not solve homelessness issues.
“It’s like taking the problem from one place and putting it elsewhere,” Sanghera said. “If we start complaining so much they will take that issue from us and give it to somebody else. That’s how they did it to us in downtown.”
