LETTER: Dumping possessions of homeless people is not the solution

By Margaret Anne Cleek, Citrus Heights–
In a June 14 article in The Sentinel, unhoused persons and their advocates claimed their possessions are being taken by the Beautification Team in violation of their 4th Amendment Rights.

In response, the City and the CHPD, stated, “Belongings are never seized by the Beautification Crew. In abandoned illegal encampments, crews remove illegally dumped debris. They do not remove anything easily identifiable as belonging to a specific individual, and officers will make extra efforts to try to identify the abandoned property’s owner when others are nearby.”

Clearly these two declarations cannot exist in the same reality. This raises questions. If items belonging to anyone are never taken, why does the Beautification Team have to be escorted by two police cruisers? Does abandoned and un-owned debris resist its own disposal and require police intervention?

Further, with 76 tons removed, surely some materials such as neatly arranged backpacks, carts, and containers with arranged contents should be assumed to have possible ownership. One would think it would take a lot of space for storage and a documentation process to be able to return these items if owned. Does such storage space and documentation exist?

I do believe greater transparency is in order, and a search for real solutions. Other municipalities have dealt with the problem by providing storage areas, and passing ordinances specifying the amount of materials a person who is unhoused may carry with them.

The situation is in no way easy to address, but just dumping the possessions of the homeless is not the solution.

*Editor’s Note: This letter has been edited for length.

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