I am so pleased to see that one California town........ Santa Barbara I think........ has an official locked yard that people who lost their homes in the recent real estate crisis can legally camp in their cars at night. it's a real city run program, specifically to lend 'legal-ness' to people that need to live in their cars. The TV thing I saw on it made it sound like it was just for people that lost homes financially, and not for regular homeless people etc. well, one of the very first rules of being in vehicles a lot is keep them legal and neat on the outside. you attract far less attention that way - 'shabby' on the outside will just attract cops and meth dealers, for example. scott turbovans Christopher Gronski wrote: > I thought I'd repost this recent associated press article on urban campers > in LA. > > I took a trip down there in January and recall seeing the huge number of > RV`s on the streets in Orange County, and thought to myself that it would be > a pretty great place to do some full timing. I was not in my Vanagon but did > spend a night or two in the back of my rented car. The climate was mild, > over night parking was allowed, and most of the beaches had those outdoor > showers. But perhaps not if there is a crack down going on. > > Now five dogs in camper is asking to get caught in my opinion, and I don`t > agree with people dumping human waste, but I imagine many people have few > other options than car living. Here is the story: > > *Story Highlights* > > - *Los Angeles cracking down on homeless camping in neighborhoods* > - *Homeless living in RVs, campers and cars parked on streets* > - *Homeowners say homeless have left human waste on streets* > - *Campers tend to have jobs, disability checks, but can't afford rent* > > *LOS ANGELES, California (AP) *-- Having lost her job and her three-bedroom > house, Darlene Knoll has joined the legions of downwardly mobile who are > four wheels away from homelessness. > > She is living out of her shabby 1978 RV, and every night she has to look for > a place to park where she won't get hassled by the cops or insulted by > residents. > > "I'm not a piece of trash," the former home health-care aide said as she > stroked one of five dogs in her cramped quarters parked in the waterfront > community of Marina del Rey. > > Amid the foreclosure crisis and the shaky economy, some California cities > are seeing an increase in the number of people living out of their cars, > vans or RVs. > > Acting on complaints from homeowners, the Los Angeles City Council got tough > earlier this year by forbidding nearly all overnight parking in residential > neighborhoods such as South Brentwood. > > But some people are just crowding into other parts of the city, including > the seaside community of Venice, where dozens of rusty, dilapidated campers > can be seen lined up outside neat single-family homes. The stench of urine > emanates from a few of the vehicles, and some residents say they have seen > human waste left behind. > > "They're nasty and gnarly," said Venice resident Jeff Scharlin. "We've heard > about drug dealing and prostitution in them. I've never seen it, but > visually they're a blight and they take up parking space." > > In Los Angeles, as in many other cities, it is illegal to live in vehicles > on public streets. But the law is not easy to enforce. Police have to enter > a vehicle to find signs that people are living there, such as cooking or > sleeping, and occupants often refuse to answer when cops knock. > > An easier way is to restrict overnight parking. In L.A., a first offense > carries a $50 fine, and subsequent violations can cost as much as $100. > > Parking-enforcement officers often give vehicle owners a warning and tell > them to move on before issuing a ticket, and that usually solves the > problem, said Alan Willis, a city transportation engineer. But other cities > in the area are not as lenient. > > "I had my motor home towed in Culver City. It cost me $500 to get it out," > said Desiri Hawkins, who lives in a small RV in Venice. "I got ticketed in > Santa Monica and had to go to court." > > Tourist states with temperate climates, such as California and Florida, have > long been magnets for the homeless. Los Angeles is the nation's homelessness > capital, with an estimated 73,000 people on the streets. A survey of 3,230 > homeless people last year in Los Angeles County found nearly 7 percent > living in vehicles, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services > Authority. > > "It's trending toward an increase," said Michael Stoop, acting executive > director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. "People would rather > live in a vehicle than wind up in a shelter, and you can't stay on a > friend's couch forever." > > People living out of their cars or campers tend to be more well-off than the > homeless on the street. They usually have jobs or disability checks that > enable them to maintain an old camper but do not allow them to afford rent. > > "For more working-class and lower-middle-class people, the car is the first > stop of being homeless, and sometimes it turns out to be a long stop," said > Gary Blasi, a University of California, Los Angeles, law professor and > activist on homeless issues. > > Some Venice residents are clamoring for overnight parking restrictions. But > parking limits in oceanfront neighborhoods are problematic because the > California Coastal Commission requires communities to accommodate surfers, > fishermen and other early-morning beachgoers. > > "The complaints are getting louder and louder," said Los Angeles City > Councilman Bill Rosendahl. > > For years, some cities such as Santa Barbara, California, and Eugene, > Oregon, have accommodated people who live out of their vehicles. Activists > in Venice are looking at some of those ideas. Santa Barbara, for example, > allows vehicles to stay from 7 p.m to 7 a.m. in church and city parking > lots. > > Knoll said she can barely afford to drive around with the rising price of > gasoline eating away at the $950 monthly disability check she receives > because of mental illness. > > She said she is also sick of police waking her up in the wee hours by > pounding on her vehicle with their nightsticks, and she is tired of fighting > with residents who call her "lowlife scum" and hurl other insults. > "We need somewhere we can have a safe haven, where we won't be harassed," > Knoll said as the wind from a passing car rocked her RV. "I never thought > I'd be living like this, but I'm stuck. This is it for me." > > The Associated Press > > > |
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