Hundreds seek out area's homeless residents in alleys, under bridges

About 375 volunteers searched city streets and unincorporated areas of Ventura County Tuesday for homeless residents as part of an annual survey. 

The point-in-time homeless count, as it's called, is part of nationwide effort by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Communities use that information to secure state and federal funding for housing and outreach projects. 

Later this week, organizers will also visit various encampments in the county. The results will include those sleeping in shelters and transitional housing.

As part of Tuesday's survey, participants, which also included organizers and law enforcement officers, asked the homeless people for demographic information and about their situation. The first question they asked was, “Where did you sleep last night?”

Volunteer Laura Everest, 30, said she was participating as a way to help the area’s homeless population. Volunteers also handed out bags of donated food, water and socks and directed homeless individuals to available resources. 

"You have a perspective of what that community looks like, but the reality is probably a lot different," she said. "They're people just like you and me who have experienced hardships but haven't had the opportunities that we have to be successful.”

Although she lives in Camarillo, Everest went to Oxnard where the need was the greatest. 

Jennifer Harkey, program director for the Ventura County Continuum of Care and organizer of the count, said there were 75 volunteers in Oxnard where about 120 were needed. 

Just before 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jose Julian walked behind a gas station in Oxnard carrying a trash bag of empty water bottles. To arm himself against the morning chill, he wore two sweaters with the hoods pulled up over his head.

He has lived in Oxnard for 14 years, but about a year ago, he got into an argument with his ex-girlfriend, Julian said through a translator. He’s been living on the streets of Oxnard ever since, taking shelter where he can. 

In another part of town, Rogelio Hernandez pushed a shopping cart filled with his possessions, including a thick blanket. He was born in Oxnard and had been jobless for a week. He had been working in construction, but “it led to trouble with the police.” 

Now homeless, Hernandez slept outside a McDonald’s restaurant on Oxnard Boulevard Monday night.

Harkey, the program director, said the results of the survey won’t be released until the end of March. It was too early to give a number Tuesday because the county still needs to review the data and remove anyone who was counted twice. 

She said the recent rain may have displaced the homeless population living in unincorporated areas of the county, especially in the Santa Clara River bottom. As a result, the survey may show a lower-than-average number of people in unincorporated areas and more in surrounding cities. 

Earlier this month, Harkey said she expected this year’s count to show approximately the same number of homeless people as last year due to a lack of new supportive housing. She is hopeful for a decline in the 2024 survey as more housing units are planned in the coming year.

The 2022 count recorded 2,238 homeless adults and children, which was a 451-person increase over 2020. Only those in shelters and transitional housing were counted in 2021 because of the pandemic. 

Under bridges, along creek beds

In Simi Valley, over 30 volunteers gathered at the Samaritan Center on Royal Avenue before spreading out for the count. The nonprofit provides food and other services to homeless residents in Simi Valley. Despite the 6 a.m. start time, the volunteers were buzzing with conversation, breaking up into small groups to disperse across the city for the count. 

One volunteer group consisted of John Amstutz, a pastor at Antioch Church in Simi Valley, and City Councilman Rocky Rhodes. The two traveled to the northwest corner of the city to count homeless residents living in the vicinity of the Arroyo Simi. 

The first unhoused person the duo encountered was Juan Veracruz, 49, who was staying under the Madera Road overpass over the arroyo. Veracruz did not speak much English, but with the help of a translator, the two learned he hailed from Mexico and had been living as a homeless resident of Simi Valley for 28 years. 

The crew later crossed the bridge and walked along the train tracks that run parallel to Easy Street. No unhoused residents were seen in the area, but traces of them were still found, including a pile of discarded shopping carts and a cache of hypodermic needles scattered on the ground. The only people seen were construction workers beginning their shifts as the dawn broke over the horizon. 

“This used to be the spot right here, but now because of the construction, it’s not,” Rhodes said.  

After surveying up and down the train tracks, the group returned to the Arroyo Simi Greenway and walked along the bike path. They approached a woman lying down in a sleeping bag next to a bench and began speaking to her. 

They learned her name was Christina Keep, 51, and she had been living in and out of homelessness since 2008. The pair later encountered another man carrying bags of recycled bottles. He said his name was Derek and he had been homeless for the past seven years. As he described his situation, he opened a bag of Funyuns to have for breakfast. 

“I’m just eating because I’m homeless,” he said, refusing to provide his last name for privacy reasons. 

Brian J. Varela covers Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Camarillo. He can be reached at brian.varela@vcstar.com or 805-477-8014. You can also find him on Twitter @BrianVarela805.

Jeremy Childs is the East County Reporter for the Ventura County Star, covering the communities of Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Simi Valley. He can be reached at 805-437-0208, jeremy.childs@vcstar.com, and on Twitter @Jeremy_Childs.