Military, city tackle Fairbanks homeless encampments
Published Saturday, June 21, 2008
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FAIRBANKS — In between the Golden Heart City of Fairbanks and Fort Wainwright is a patch of greenery along the Steese Highway that was once home to dozens of homeless people.
All that remains along the beaten path are garbage bags full of clothing, shoes hanging from tree branches, empty bottles of R&R and torn down tents in a wide array of faded colors and the familiar smell of a musty tent.
In an effort to clean up the area, city and military police have made several trips out to the surrounding woods but the efforts seem ineffective.
The city has plans to cut down the wooded areas west of the Richardson Highway to make it less inviting for transients.
“That area has a long history of problems, and it was an obvious safety concern if we allowed it to go on,” City Chief of Staff Pat Cole said.
The wooded property east of the highway is owned by Fort Wainwright, which has no plans to cut down the area, but the Army recognizes the area is a problem.
“The camp has posed a potential force-protection risk for Fort Wainwright to allow individuals to encroach upon military property,” Linda Douglass, spokeswoman for Fort Wainwright said.
Surrounding neighborhoods both on and off base have safety concerns of their own.
“We’ve seen broken liquor bottles, heard fighting and gun shots and it’s all around just uncomfortable that homeless people are living in our backyard,” one Island Homes resident said.
The Island Homes neighborhood is just across from the wooded area.
“The area has produced its fair share of disturbances and was notorious for being problematic for other surrounding residents as well,” Douglass said.
Since the city and military have cleaned out the area, many dispersed among the streets of downtown Fairbanks.
Ricky Blount and his girlfriend, Dorothy Pitts, once called the wooded area home. Blount and Pitts joined several other campers, including James Dong, a disabled veteran, who claims he’s lived out there, without a problem, for seven years.
“We’d never seen a ‘no trespassing’ sign around,” Pitts said.
They both said they kept to themselves, for the most part, and prided themselves on keeping the area clean.
“We didn’t like to associate with the drunks out there, and we always tried to make it a peaceful setting,” Pitts said.
They remember the night they were told to leave. According to the couple, on May 10 at about 1:45 a.m., about 20 campers awoke to flashlights and dogs and were asked to leave the area by military and city police. The two claim they bolted from the site, and were not given a chance to grab the tent, sleeping bag, a few cans of food and Pitts’ eye glasses, the only items in their possession.
However, military police say the campers were given ample time to gather their belongings and that the police had no authority to seize the property of these individuals.
“There were no working military dogs at the scene,” Douglass confirmed.
Pitts remembers it differently.
“It just came out of nowhere,” Pitts said. “All of a sudden there were dogs barking at us and the police said we had to leave,” she said.
After being asked to leave, the two fled to a Noble Street park where they spent the rest of the night sleeping inside playground equipment.
“It’s not like we wanted to be out there, but we have nowhere else to go,” Blount said.
Since being asked to leave, police officials have had to clean out several surrounding wooded areas. The wooded area east of the camp is scheduled to be cut downed sometime in July, according to Cole.
Meanwhile, Blount, Pitts and other campers continue to sleep in the Noble Street park and in abandoned apartment buildings around town.
Community Discussion
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Why did they have to break up camp at 1:45am? If they know they are homeless, where do they expect them to even TRY to go at 1:45am??? At least try making it a "decent" hour, so that they can find a new place, or a shelter, or the mission, or??? I dont know. That was my first thought when I read this.
There goes one of our few remaining greenbelts. Just noticed this week that someone also cut down all the trees at the corner of College and Johansen. We thought they had been left there intentionally for a buffer. Before you know it, all we will have is concrete and asphalt, just like the big cities.
I agree with aframe. They treated these folks as less than human, running them off in the middle of the night with nowhere to go. It makles me feel ashamed of my city.
Currently there has been a long questions on homeless and inebriate individuals here in town for many years. Some freeze and most die of alcohol. Why does'nt the city utilize a same model to a sober card house that Eugene Fields once tried to operate? At least this kept otherwise some drunk people sober, off the street and fed. To be generous add a regular daily delivery from the Fairbanks Food Bank.
Frankly I have a problem with people who don't seem to have anywhere else to go - why not? There are options out there - granted you have to have some kind of interest in bettering yourself - even if moving up in the world means an indoor toilet. I don't have much sympathy for them - they made their choice to not go to the rescue mission and get help getting employed, getting housing, getting something! It's like the guy on the corner who says he's an ex vet and homeless. Why doesn't he have a job to support himself - if he can stand outside all day long, can't he stand inside walmart all day long and get paid for it? I think most homeless are just that because they either are mentally ill or they choose to be there because no one expects anything of them. I'm sorry if that seems harsh but I work very hard so my family won't be homeless, so I can provide for myself even after I can't work anymore. Maybe they just don't want to be responsible for anything more than their next bottle of booze...
What struck me about this article is the photo. Thats an empty bottle of Patron Silver. Pretty sure it sells for upwards of $50 a bottle.
i agree with ljc. walmart will hire almost anyone and if these people can be drunk all the time with r and r. first off they gotta spend the 15 bucks to get it therefor if they are drunk, to me they dont have a problem.
Some have moved out to Olnes Pond and the old Whitefish Campground on the Elliott. The human waste and trash problems are sickening. Be sure to thank your legislature for cutting the management funds.
When do people have a right to camp out on anybody property, whether it is private, commerical, or military. You buy property, pay taxes, get sued if something happen to them on your property, but you can't kick them out when you want them too regardless of the HOUR!! I heard they are even in the open fields by the new Fred Meyers. The enviromenalist are so worried and concerned about opening ANWR because of Pristine wilderness, just let the homeless people and the junk yard homeowner that is abudant in this community take over. It sicken by sight to go around Farmers Loop and see all the shacks,garbage, junk cars, buses, piled in people yards. Its beginning to overtake our community!!
Leave them alone ... they are not bothering anyone.
well they've cleared the area behind sam's that used to be their home.
there is a REAL PROBLEM in this town and it seems me it is seen due to the long hours of sunlight. in other cities it gets dark and you can't see the homeless.
but like hawaii which has it year round alaska gets MORE in the summer.
instead of ASSUMING YOU KNOW.... why not go talk to them. maybe they are just drunks that would rather drink then pay rent but don't for a minute think all of them are.and the 1:45 am was due to the fact that at 5 or 6 they get up and head to the 'kitchen' then roam around and do their collecting etc. for their daily need.
what sickens me IS THE JUDGEMENTS OF THOSE WHO HAVE NO CLUE!
i say we live and let live. We can safely complain from our cozy homes about how much better we are than them. Besides, if we continuously eradicate the people who are living a life that seems deplorable to us, then eventually we will be the next on the food chain. Nobody wants that.
The problem is people not respecting other people personal property , state or federal property!! You do not have a right to set up a home in anyone elses PROPERTY!! If you want to live like that go buys some vacate property and live the way you want too. They could probably pool their money together and buy a decent piece of property if they didn't drink it all away. If we do away with Soup Kitchens, free programs maybe these people will go find a job, get help to get them out of this life style. The Rescue Mission has a wonderful program and a place to sleep which safe and secure. But, you first have to want to CHANGE and take responsability for your actions.
You know they say that most Americans are three paychecks away from bankruptcy. Considering the economic situation facing the interior, I wonder how many people may find themselves in situations where they are homeless. Was always told growing up, that what you give to another comes back ten fold to you. Give a lot of put downs and they will eventually come back at you. Give some hope and it to will come back to you. Maybe the solution is to set up a designated site for the summer. If we can build a doggie park, it seems like 25 to 50 people can be helped by such a designated piece of land.
SpiritofAlaska: The rescue mission does not have a wonderful program. I used to work with the homeless and most of them will REFUSE to go to the mission. The mission has a long history of demeaning the homeless. They kick people out for things like not turning the lights off, or spitting on the lawn. They do breathalyzer tests and urinalysis and they don't let people with addiction problems in (what's the freaking point of a mission if you don't serve most of the homeless population?). They won't give you dinner if you don't go to their church service.
The Fairbanks Rescue Mission is NOT helping with the homeless problem.
Give me a break people. The poor homeless people, my goodness. I started working the day after my 14th birthday and have never stopped. These people are capable of working, scooping ice cream, making burgers or working at the fair grounds. Granted for some this might not seem desirable but for some it is a start. All you have to do is try. As for the hour they decided to approach the situation, big deal. When else would you find them there? I do not feel sorry for these people, there are plenty of people out there that are just barely making it but they still get up everyday and keep on trying. The majority of homeless people choose their lifestyle. I have heard so of the same things about the rescue mission but I belive this was before the went under new mgmt.
I know about this “camp” and it has been cleaned out a number of times this summer. Why they chose to do it in the am might have to do with complaints at the time. I agree that its sad to see the greenbelts get mowed down. These “camps” are the reason think of the liability on the property owners. FFD and FPD respond to these “camps” all to often for out of control fires, assaults, rapes, deaths, brawls, drowning. How can we help people who chose to take them selves out of society? Treatment? Jobs? It is an issue with few answers. Blaming the police for trying to eliminate an unsafe environment really isn’t part of the answer.
These homeless people if they wanted to work they could. The problem is that most of them are drinking or on drugs or just plain don't want to work. The POLICE DEPARTMENT should be shown more respect then that, it is a dangerous job to go into these camps and not know what situtation your going into. These people should not be able to make camps whereever they choose it should be in camp grounds ect and yes every where you go there will be rules. That is because it is not your property or place to make the rules if you do not own or rent the location you are at. The RESCUE MISSION does what it can and you need to keep the rules strict or people would be fighting and being disrespectful of them and the other people who do use the mission to better themselves.
1:45am? with dogs? perhaps. sounds a little like a nazi SS tactic. they like those hours because all who live there will be around at that time. and the disabling effect of a quick swoop in when the residents are sleeping really puts the homeless there at a disadvantage. i'd be interested if they had guns drawn going into there.
i was a homeless person in this town for close to a decade. i didn't inhabit any of these greenbelts that are mentioned either in the letter or the comments. these are all too close to people for me. i camped alone, farther out from town, and i wanted no one knowing where i was. but the first thing i want to say is thank you to the people of fairbanks and the police department. you always treated me decently. the police department in this town treats homeless people very well compared to just about everywhere else.
you hear a lot of criticism of these people. "why don't they just get a job and help themselves"? that's pretty easy for you to say sitting in your comfy house or apartment. you have clean clothes on and a washing machine to wash them. try going without a shower for a couple of months and convince someone in an interview that your the one for the position. and what phone number do you give them to call you for that interview? dial the third tree from the left after the junk car? and all this assuming that a person actually values this american culture of materialism, which i personally think sucks eggs. you say, they can go to the mission. but i'll tell you that the homeless people out there avoid the mission like the plague because their brand of religion is so intolerable that they'd rather risk death sleeping outside than go there. hey, i'm a christian and i felt that same way.
what are possible solutions? how about opening a more secular homeless shelter? how about opening a house for active alcoholics like they have done in seattle? yes, these ideas have their draw backs. but how great is the idea that these people may next come and set up their homeless encampments close to YOUR house? face it, most these people aren't going to get off the streets. even if they weren't too badly damaged mentally and physically to work before they got like this, they probably are now. i had an amazing, even miraculous series of events that got me off the streets alive. don't expect that to happen for all of them.
p.s. walmart doesn't just hire anyone. i bet up to 33% of the population of fairbanks is ineligible for employment there with the criminal background checks and drug and alcohol screening.
Ok....I get that these people bug you by camping in the wooded areas around town, but do you really feel that them sleeping inside PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT in a downtown park is really a better option??? And who are you to tell them that they need to get off drugs, quit drinking and get a job? You don't know these people. The ones that the paper interviewed didn't seem to be drug addicted, alchoholic criminals. Just people that for whatever reason have no place else to go. I know several families that choose to camp at a gravelpit for the entire summer so they can save money for the winter. Can you imagine the public outrage if these campers were rousted out at 2 in the morning?? Just because these people don't have what you have, and don't want what you want, doesn't mean that they don't deserve to be treated with respect.
I know of several who considered themselves to be homeless, who have had problems with addictions, and no matter what counseling or intervention tried they chose to live in what was locally called the 'wino camps' or other outdoor encampments. Each received monthly checks for their disability or situation thru either our states food stamp program, ATAP, and SSI. Food stamps were used to buy expensive meats and sold cheaply for cash. What other dollars received was usually handled by a family member who 'rationed' it out or handled thru an agency who acts on their behalf. So those who chose to live 'outdoors' say it was because no where to go or cheaper. I have personally seen TV's, microwaves, and extension cords leading to an electrical source. That source was mine and unknown to me at the time, until I questioned my high electric bill. But I agree, people need to show each other some respect and that includes those that are 'homeless' need to treat those of us who work hard to live indoors with respect as well.
I would hate to see them clear cut the area. Why not do some selective clearing, leaving enough trees to make it look nice and leave a bit of a barrier, but clearing enough of the trees and underbrush that it's not "private" enough for people to camp?
As for the Rescue Mission...I agree that they need to have rules and structure, but I think it would be great if they could find an alternative to requiring everyone to go to religious services. I believe that the people staying there have to pay wither $12 a day, or work 3 hours. Why not require a 4th hour of work, or 1 hour of reading time or something like that instead of a church service?
I suggest the mayor go spend an evening in camp with these folks. She has demonstrated a really nifty "hands on" approach to governing. And...oh by the way, stop calling them homeless...they are BUMS then homeless, drunk, dirty and lazy by choice. Get a grip Fairbanks.
i used to work for the salvation army and also at the food bank and there are plenty of options for the homeless.... the key is too want to help yourself.... if you want to drink do drugs or what ever your habits are just know that you cant just sent up camp anywhere or assume that things are yours when they are not... there are options out there for you..... everyone does have a story in life but i wont sit with a person who just wants to let life go by and not even try...... we think we have problems go to anchorage in one of the shelters they run alot of homeless addicted women go there and they turned most of the women away but took mponey for the bed space.... theese women were placed on the strets of downtown anchorage and they wanted help....but there was none so getting back to fairbanks...... get help for yourselves or move on....
SpiritofAlaska you are not! Is it too uch to ask to have a small spot to lay your head? That could be you. We all get by through grace or luck. All our hard work mayimprove our situation but t6hat is a dream that can quickly crumble. What will you pay for fuel this winter? Will you cut back or just leave? Oh that's right, Sarah and the State government will rescue you because somehow you are worth rescuing. What's that you say, it's your resource, your money but not their land? Chasing these people out in the middle of the night ranks up there with the guy throwing a rock at the wounded Sterling bear. Living in a nice house doesn't make someone human.
Sorry for the bad editing. Here is the corrected version for those English majors out there.
SpiritofAlaska you are not!
Is it too much to ask to have a small spot to lay your head? That could be you. We all get by through grace or luck. All our hard work may improve our situation but that is a dream that can quickly crumble. What will you pay for fuel this winter? Will you cut back or just leave? Oh that's right, Sarah and the State government will rescue you because somehow you are worth rescuing. What's that you say, it's your resource, your money but not their land?
Chasing these people out in the middle of the night ranks up there with the guy throwing a rock at the wounded Sterling bear. Living in a nice house doesn't make someone human.
We've got no business making judgments about people who are homeless. The reasons for being homeless are many and varied, and people in nice houses with indoor toilets cannot imagine some of them. Cutting down the woods and throwing people out of their only shelter at 2AM is not going to solve the problem, that much we know. I would like to call attention to the fact that a significant portion of our homeless population are minors. The latest estimates say there are over 500 kids in Fairbanks out there without a real home. There are basically no youth shelters here anymore. So, are we going to lump everybody in the same category? Let's get to work on the real problem instead of cutting down trees!
go get a job. quit being lazy. plain an simple. I work every day to live in a house-what a novel idea-i am not going to help them get a piece of land-
Freeze
The Patron was most likely stolen
Not a popular choice amongst the homeless
Just to address the 1:45 am time that people are so hung up on….When a disturbance is called in would you like FPD to wait for a reasonable hour to investigate? I doubt anyone was thinking hey lets wait until the middle of the night and go bust some trespassers.
What do these people do in the winter?
When its to cold they go to detox or jail, they see the shelters as a last resort.
So why would it be preferable for people on the lower end of the food chain to accept charity, welfare, and indoor plumbing, when they seem to not mind living in an unsubsidized, simple, out of sight and out of mind camp? The area described in the article seems to not be directly next door to anybody, if I followed the description correctly as essentially the North East corner of the Airport Road and Steese/Richardson highway intersection.
So how much is daily rate for least expensive, unsubsidized, basic housing in here in Fairbanks these days anyway? Maybe $100 a night or more? I won’t be surprised to learn that some of these people are just new to town and trying to save up some money while working entry level jobs. With fuel prices being what they are, and the economy heading the direction it is, it seems likely that we will be seeing more of these modern day “Hoovervilles” springing up elsewhere.
lazy!?!? how many fat homeless people do you see out there wandering around? not many, if any. do you think that is because they don't get enough to eat? no... it's because they burn more calories than you slobs do during a day just getting their basic needs met. it's a lot of hard work. i bet some of you people calling the homeless people lazy have bellies hanging over your belts.
so tell me, what makes your mainstream lifestyle so hot? you get a job because everyone tells you that is what you are suppose to do, working to make some little egomaniac supervisor who makes 25 cents an hour more than you do happy. all this to buy stuff that generally is pretty useless. then you have to keep working to keep paying the bill for those toys so that you don't own the toys anymore, the toys own you. then if you slave for many years working yourself towards an early heart attack to buy a house and some property you can call your own you can't even just stop working and relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor. if you don't pay the property taxes to the Man he comes and takes it away from you and tells you it is right. personally, i'm hoping this energy crisis makes this precious society of yours all fall apart. then you can all find out what it is like to sleep in below zero weather everyday and eat stale frozen bread from dinner.
If they clear that area, the homeless will just move elsewhere. It is only a solution for that area, and then the problem moves - it isnt solved. I doubt any of you that say "let them be" would volunteer to have the homeless set up camp in your backyard. No one has a right to park themselves anywhere they want, and you bet if they get hurt on someone's property they would sue the pants off of you if they could. What is the problem with the Rescue Mission having rules? Can you imagine the chaos if they didnt? They are trying to help people start to better themselves, not reward people who just want to drink and come for a free meal and bed. Life is full of rules and consequences and whether you choose to follow them or not, the world doesnt owe anyone anything. Homelessness is incredibly sad but imagine how much worse it is going to be with the increased cost of fuel...
To those who ask, "Why shouldn't the Rescue Mission have rules?"
That isn't the issue. I worked at the women's shelter for a number of years. Our primary purpose was providing SAFE shelter for women who have been abused or threatened in some way. However, many of the women who came there were homeless (homeless women being more likely to be abused or assaulted than the rest of the population).
The women's shelter has rules, but they also respect their clients. The rules are very common sense - don't threaten others, don't let unauthorized people into the building, treat others with respect, clean up after yourself, no spanking children. It works well.
Go down to the Rescue Mission sometime. Ask for their application - it's several pages long and crammed with ridiculous, unnecessary rules. Their staff are often very unprofessional, many of them being former homeless people themselves. It is a demeaning and disrespectful environment, and you wouldn't want to stay there - so why would you expect a homeless person to?
I often referred women to the Rescue Mission when they did not have a need for safety. The people at the Rescue Mission would actually LIE and say they didn't have any available beds when we referred women with five children - they didn't want to deal with that many kids.
The Rescue Mission is a huge building with many many beds, built by philanthropist Dennis Wise and donated to them. Many of these beds go unused because the Rescue Mission turns so many people away, whether it's because they have addiction problems and can't pass the breathalyzer or urinalysis tests, or they simply don't want to deal with them.
If you don't believe me, go ask the homeless people on the street why they don't stay at the Rescue Mission. Oh, whoops - I forgot that homeless people are sub-human, and nothing they say can be trusted. Right?
STOP and THINK
During the day the homeless are in town begging from you and I and going to the dumpsters and getting your credit card numbers from you. They are also going to the store to get the nights supply of booze too. What a way to save money so you can get drunk every day. The police should be ashamed of themselves because they interupt a good drunk
Hybrid Alaskan asked: What do these people do in the winter?
They freeze to death. Seven of them, at least, this past winter.
People with families who loved them. People with children.
People with addictions that hold them in bondage.
People who can't get free. They want to, but they can't.
How many parents in Fairbanks are sitting blindly by, enjoying their possessions and their easy lifestyle, spending their days at work rather than at home with their kids, while their own children are starting to experiment with alcohol and drugs, taking their first steps along this very same path???
Exchronic: “their brand of religion is so intolerable that they'd rather risk death sleeping outside than go there. hey, i'm a christian and i felt that same way.”
Exchronic, I would be interested to know more about what you find objectionable about the Rescue Mission’s “brand of religion.” As I understand it, a wide spectrum of area churches conduct the religious services there. I’m having a hard time visualizing this variety as a “brand of religion.”
As what we now call a “faith based” organization, I can understand that religious training is part of their program. But the various comments here are making me wonder if there is something more to the picture…..
there IS more to the picture. i just don't want to get into the name calling thing, especially without a representative of the mission here to defend themselves. but read KM's post above.... talk about hitting the nail right on the head!
we need a secular homeless (nonreligious) homeless shelter here. i'd be willing to work in it, or run it or whatever. but hey, i was homeless for 10 years. i don't even know how to go about getting a phone hooked up in my name without help.
OK....Here we go again since nobody came up with a solution yet.
Currently there has been a long questions on homeless and inebriate individuals here in town for many years. Some freeze and die of alcohol. Why does'nt the city utilize a same model to a sober card house that Eugene Fields once tried to operate? At least this kept otherwise some drunk people sober, off the street and fed. To be generous add a regular daily delivery from the Fairbanks Food Bank.
Also make them work hard in the woodyard instead of chilling out at the FCC awaiting release to commit another crime. After all we sold them alcohol for tax capital.
The local law enforcement in this town and most others seem to focus only on the "easy" tasks- drunk drivers (bravo), domestic disputes and pretty much whatever "falls into their laps". In other words the police are REactive instead of PROactive, drug dealers in Fairbanks are running rampant and without restraint, people dealing terrible substances to teenagers and anyone else who wants harsh chemicals up their nose or veins, the cops know who the big dealers are but cannot do anything without so much "evidence" that its almost impossible to gather it unless the suspect is really dumb or something "falls into their laps".
The homeless are not the problem, alcohol and toxic chemical based drugs are, sure, you can go to the store and it's perfectly legal to buy say $100 dollars worth of booze, get into your car, drive home and drink yourself to death, but oh no, it's the homeless people that are the problem. I mean,"I don't want any of those nasty bums around but I need to have my vodka or beer or whatever- EVERY DAY after work, just one or two though".........
Alcohol should be prohibited again, it kills more people and causes more misery than all the other drugs combined but try to take it away and all you sensible hard working American drunks will be turning into wild animals, so go ahead and drink up! just stay off the roads, and keep your hands off your spouses!
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