Jason St. Gelais: Who's responsible for cleaning up after homeless camps on property?

To The Daily Sun,

I would like to take a moment to bring another perspective to the homeless problem within our community. Everyone needs to realize the impact this problem has on the property owners and businesses within the community.

My family is fortunate enough to own a home here at the end of a dead-end street that abuts large parcels of wooded land where the city’s homeless seem to flock. On a recent visit with to my mother’s, we discovered three homeless camps. Two of these camps were no more than 100 yards from an elementary school playground and the other was no more than 50 yards from my mother’s home.

When these camps are abandoned, the aftermath of their stay is both disheartening and disgusting. Tents, sleeping bags, tarps, mattresses, propane tanks, drug paraphernalia, shopping carts, grills, personal hygiene products, buckets, cookware, trash, trash, and more trash are just a few of the items left behind. Now, who is responsible to clean this up? Is it the organizations that are supplying the less fortunate with these items? Is there a local committee or group that assists with the removal or cost of removal? You may be surprised that there is not, it is up to the property owner to clean mess this up.

We have contacted local authorities but have honestly given up hope as their hands are tied. We were told that the land must be posted in order for them to step in. Once it was posted, the signage was simply torn down and it is back to more of the same. This has been an ongoing problem for years now and I do not see the end in sight unless we stop enabling people to be a part of this problem.

Jason St. Gelais

Meredith