by DCG
On Sunday I told you about a full page ad an anonymous person placed in the SF Chronicle to warn residents to “watch your backs” because the city can’t do anything about the homeless crisis. Apparently people have had enough with the homeless in Lodi (south of Sacramento) as well. Flyers asking the homeless to leave have been spotted in the city.
From SF Gate: Flyers found around Lodi are sending someone’s message loud and clear: homeless people are not welcome in the Central Valley city.
The flyers, riddled with questionable grammar, read: “Your homeless filth and destruction of property, your illegal squatting in our parks, your pandering and public urination and defecating wherever you are, the discarded stolen property you leave in your wake, IS NOT WANTED IN LODI.
“Find your family, get help, move out of Lodi. Do something productive towards your future.”
The flyers aren’t signed, and it’s not clear where they originated from.
Tom Patti, of the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors, told KCRA that many residents have expressed ongoing frustrated with the homeless community.
“We have encampments with litter everywhere. You know who’s creating the litter but there’s no accountability in any capacity,” Patti said. “So it’s time to start having some accountability.”
“I get it. I mean, it’s frustrating, but I think we as fellow citizens have to be willing to enter in with the people that need healing,” said Shelby Young, executive director of Lodi House, in an interview with KOVR.
Lodi House is a nonprofit organization that aims to help homeless women and children get back on their feet by providing shelter, counseling and support. “Shame doesn’t change behavior,” Young said of the flyers.
A survey conducted by the county found an estimated 1,552 people in San Joaquin County were experiencing homelessness in 2017. For reference, there were an estimated 7,499 homeless people living in San Francisco the same year.
DCG