Homeless smokers and parched plant life could be a deadly combination
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

Homeless people living on hillsides during the driest season on record may be putting themselves and the community in danger.

In the winter, local churches take turns housing the homeless to protect them from the cold, but that program ended on March 31. Those who took advantage of the shelters have been left without a roof over their heads at night.

In the warmer part of the year they return to the streets to sleep in their vehicles if they have them, live in encampments around the city or migrate to other areas, said Rick Schroeder, executive director of Many Mansions, a provider of low-income housing.

"We have no permanent shelter for them," Schroeder said.

He estimates that more than half of the mentally ill and homeless are smokers. Camping in the dry brush in the open spaces around the city creates a risk to others and themselves, he said.

The area behind Kmart was the site of a homeless encampment, Schroeder said, before it caught fire. It charred 30 acres in the Hampshire Road and Foothill Drive area last January. The cause of the fire remains unknown.

According to a recent count, there are more than 1,900 homeless people in the county, with about 80 living in Thousand Oaks. Some camp in the wilderness that surrounds the city, others live on the streets or wherever else they find a spot for the night.

Over the last two weeks, Lutheran Social Services has received about 10 calls a day from homeless people seeking help, said Chris Poynter, program and development director.

Using the donations the charity relies on, Lutheran Social Services can offer only one or two motel vouchers a month.

And when it comes to this assistance, Poynter said, families get priority.

She would like to be able to do more.

"The heat affects our homeless community . . . in extreme weather, the struggle to survive is often very perilous," Poynter said.

She said a friend of hers pointed out recently that in some ways the community treats animals with more compassion than people who are homeless.

"We have women and children who have no place to go; shelters are too full; housing waiting lists are longer and longer," she said. "The homeless have no place to sleep."

Those who seek a place outdoors in the dirt, with no electricity, running water, toilets or protection from the elements, may find that weather conditions add to their hardships.

A weather pattern that's been warm, dry and windy has left the area with lots of dry or dead vegetation, said Capt. Barry Parker, spokesperson for the Ventura County Fire Department. A cigarette or spark can turn into a blaze.

"We don't have a program to maintain the homeless. That's a law enforcement issue," Parker said.

Capt. Jerry Hernandez, spokesperson for the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, said, homeless people aren't allowed to camp in public areas such as parks and sidewalks. Police will tell them to move on. But no sweeps or forced relocations are planned for those living on the hillsides, he said.

"As far as I know, the sheriff's department is not targeting the homeless," Hernandez said.

Contact a local fire station for fire safety literature or visit www.fire.countyofventura.org.