It is understandable, the Atascadero Mutual Water Company is tired of removing couches and shopping carts out of the river bed, saying they pull about a dozen of each out each week! Yikes. The homeless encampment along the river is getting large, cutting holes in their fences, using the river as their bathroom.
The Atascadero Mutual Water Company owns the access to the river bed on the de Anza Trail, the one we use to access our beaver dams. And now they are threatening to close access to the river because of the work involved with dealing with the homeless encampments.
This is such a tricky issue. I have a soft spot for the homeless population here. It is so expensive to live in this county and if I were homeless, I would want to live near the river also. I don’t think kicking them out is a solution. Would these homeless go to a shelter if there was more rooms available? Should we help fundraise for the homeless shelters in our county? Should we encourage our city to provide bathroom facilities in the vicinity of the river? Should our naturalist community contribute to a county-wide education campaign to educate the homeless on how to shit in the woods? Is the world ready to learn how to compost Humanure ? and here ?
I just have questions. This is what I will be looking into in the near future. If you have suggestions or some energy to contribute in this realm, reach out to me. We can combine forces.
Thanks.