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ONTARIO – An outdoor living space for the homeless opened last week in an isolated, untraveled area of vacant lots more than 500 feet from any other structure.
Photo Gallery: Homeless in Ontario
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Homeless camp, City of Ontario
It was set up by the city at minimal cost to address the growing encampment of homeless people near the city’s Amtrak station at Euclid Avenue and Holt Boulevard, said Bob Heitzman, the city’s assistant city manager.
“We could have just said, `Move on to somewhere else,”‘ Heitzman said. “In this case, we said move on and gave them another location to go to.”
The new site, with a city-provided portable toilet and running water, has become the new home for about 20 homeless people since opening on Friday.
“It’s not illegal to be homeless, and it’s not illegal to be in town,” Mayor Paul Leon said. “They have expressed a desire for some kind of accommodations that would fit their wishes to have a place where they can be and not be imposed upon.
“We don’t have any other place that we could set up and say, `Here’s a spot.’ But that’s a spot that we could do that with at this time.”
The homeless encampment near the Amtrak station was established about six months ago at the city’s urging, said Rick Ritchey, 40, one of the homeless people who moved from the station to the new site.
About 30 people were living there when police came on Friday, told the homeless people about the new living space and said “in a roundabout way” that they had to leave the Amtrak site, said Rod Vaughn, one of the homeless people.
“They wanted us out of sight and out of mind, which we didn’t mind,” said Ritchey, who has been homeless off and on for 10 years.
The living space is at Cucamonga Avenue and Jefferson Street, in an area just west of L.A./Ontario International Airport that was formerly a residential area.
The city purchased the residential lots from owners through a voluntary program established after the airport opened, Heitzman said.
The area encompasses several full blocks, and in recent years people have used it as an illegal dumping site. The area is peppered with large “no dumping” signs.
Homeless people at the site say they like the new living space. It is now filled with bags, suitcases, tents, mattresses and other camping equipment.
The noise from planes passing overhead and nearby trains is bearable, they say, better than the previous spot right next to the train tracks.
There are trees that provide shade, and the city laid woodchips down over the site, which is roughly the size of two residential lots.
The city installed four trash cans and two picnic tables, and because the site was set up by the city, the homeless people say they are no longer bothered by the police.
“At least the city is recognizing us,” Ritchey says. “The city of Ontario doesn’t have transients, it has a homeless population.”
Volunteers from aid groups that serve food to the city’s homeless had mixed feelings about the new living area – many commended the city for attempting to help the homeless, but questioned the appropriateness of the site’s location and wondered whether the city considered it a permanent fix.
“What is the city going to do with those people?” said Borsay Bryant, a Chino Hills resident and volunteer from Calvary Chapel Golden Springs in Diamond Bar. “Are they going to keep moving them from place to place, or are they going to find a suitable place for them?”
Peter Briring, a staff attorney with the Southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union who has done extensive work on homelessness, said he was not aware of another city that has set up a similar outdoor encampment for the homeless.
“That may be better than harassing and arresting homeless people, that that’s not a long-term solution to homelessness,” he said. “It’s not going to get those people off the streets.
“Experience shows that the best way to get homeless people stabilized is to provide them supportive housing – housing with services that address the issues they may have: mental health counseling, drug and alcohol counseling.”
Staff writer Will Bigham can be reached by e-mail at will.bigham@dailybulletin.com, or by phone at 
(909) 483-8553
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As a member of a 12 step fellowship in this local area, several of us take 2 meetings a week to this encampment. Wednesday at 6pm and Sunday at 6pm. But just for common knowledge not all the homeless at this encampment have alcohol or substance abuse issues. There are entire families there, some with young children, babies and family pets. It would be nice if the public at large, and not just certain groups, would help these that are less fortunate than us. We are all Gods children. Simple things like warm clothes, blankets, sleepings bags, and essential toiletries would be so kindly appreciated. With the holidays arriving try to remember the real meaning of being thankful, and give just a little caring and love to those that are less fortunate then ourselves.
Admittedly I have not yet read the entire article. This is one disadvantage WordPress presents to the semi-vagrant netizen. By the time I read far enough to realize more must be downloaded, I’m no longer at the library…
Anyway, it got me wondering what are your editorial criteria vis à vis the present blog vs. Bigots and Buffoons. The part of the article this side of “Continue Reading” has a certain NIMBY tone. Then again, “In this case, we said move on and gave them another location to go to,” which I suppose must be a departure from business as usual. Giving people the benefit of the doubt is always good editorial policy. The link for the rest of the article is on my “to do” list. Perhaps I will have further comment once I finish the article.