Friend of the show <strike>Kimberly Wolfe<strike> Matt Leslie writes in The Fullerton Rag that Fullerton’s Hunt Library branch, which serves an area of the city (near Commonwealth and Brookhurst) that could certainly benefit from library access, is being closed indefinitely by the city’s Library Board, because they were told that “the library staff did not feel safe opening and closing the facility.” (Disclosure: OJB “staffer” Ryan Cantor serves on that board and may have his own comments to add.)
Photo snagged from fullertonsfuture.org Website, aka FFFF. Forensic analysis from OJB allows us to estimate that this photo was taken approximately 3-1/2 years ago.
Go read <strike>her</strike> his article for the details — including what the closure may mean for the building, given that its donation to the city is contingent on its remaining a library (unless the Hunt Foundation agrees to a change) — but there’s one detail that I think deserves to be fleshed out a bit. I’ll quote just one paragraph of hers:
Reportedly, the library staff felt unsafe around a growing homeless population and at least one menacing dog (presumably not within the adjacent dog park). Both City Manager Joe Felz and Police Chief Dan Hughes attended the meeting. The Board’s members were told that new homeless people were arriving from Anaheim, and that they were not behaving in a way the population there generally has in the past. Officers were reported to have escorted staff to and from the building. It is not clear why OC Animal Control has not been able to take care of the dog.
(My emphasis added.) This is, for the benefit of those unfamiliar with Fullerton, nowhere near the site of the new homeless shelter that the Supes want to build, so it wouldn’t seem to be related to that. (It is close to the Armory at Brookhurst and Valencia, which is about to close for the “warm season.”) The big news seems to be that (1) “new homeless people are arriving from Anaheim” (Northwest Anaheim being a few blocks south across the 91 — and not the location of the Armory) and (2) these homeless are presumably, for this to be a reason to close down the branch, more menacing and/or violent than those that have been around there previously.
Some questions:
- How do Fullerton city officials know that these homeless are coming in from Anaheim — rather than, say, the Armory?
- What reason do these homeless give for moving from Anaheim?
- (Someone is interviewing them — right?)
- Has there been communication with the Anaheim police or other city government agencies about why this is happening?
- Specifically, is this happening to some extent at the suggestion or instigation of the Anaheim Police Department?
- How are the new homeless more menacing than their predecessors?
- Where are their predecessors now?
- Is there any explanation for why they are more violent?
- What plans does Fullerton have to respond to this influx — beyond closing a library?
Homelessness is a city-wide — and a regional — problem. If Anaheim is shunting its homelessness problem onto Fullerton, appropriate actors — and that may well mean the Supervisors or the legislator — have to step in. Making people move across a city border is no solution. Better provision of services — and, remember, the nearby Armory (at Brookhurst and Valencia) closes to the homeless for the “warm season” after this weekend — spread out over all areas of Orange County is. (And if a particular area within OC doesn’t want to have homeless nearby, they can bloody well foot the bill for whoever takes them.)
Anyone who feels like doing some reporting is welcome to borrow any or all of my questions and report in below.
I’m not certain you can say its any “authority” driving homeless north. I’m a 18 year Fullerton resident who relocated to Anaheim two years ago. Where I moved from was the area where the unfortunate violence happened at the train station/bus depot. At that area there were plenty of homeless, many of whom would wake me up in the middle of the night by shouting at the church next door to my apartment. One time I had to wake up a guy so he could get his feet out from under my car so I could drive to work. The landlord would call someone to clear the area and within two days the same guys would be back, sleeping under the stairs. In Anaheim I moved into a house across from a park. I got a dog and discovered on walks that the park had a homeless problem. That greatly increased in the last year. Most of the park became inaccessible. Now, the number of homeless in the last few weeks is suddenly down there, but it’s not like there are cops driving around scooping people up; it’s as unguarded as ever. I use the dog park in Fullerton and have donated. The people crowding the hunt library are not the same ones I’ve seen on a daily basis for the past two years in the park in Anaheim. I’m not certain anything I just typed is helpful. It’s just observations forum someone who has experience in both cities and has daily interaction with the homeless.
It seems like it might be helpful in piecing together what’s happening. Thanks.
Greg, not sure why you are blaming Kimberly Wolfe for this story, which was written by me, but thank you for paying attention to the issue. Look for follow up stories at http://www.fullertonrag.com.
Sorry, Matt. I found it through her Facebook feed. I’ll correct the error. (And … “blaming”?)
Ohhhhhhhh.
Maybe the Fullerton library has bettter books than the other branches? But seriously, maybe the staff at the library should get over themselves. There are homeless people who spend time in all libraries…why? Because its a safe place to hang out and they can read. I think the staff at the Fullerton Library are uncomfortable because they have to see homeless in their workplace. If cuts keep going the way they are, the staff might be hanging out in libraries because they don’t have anywhere to go either.
I bet they do Ryan, but people make judgements about the homeless all the time. They are uncomfortable to be around people who seem like drug addicts or drunks. I am making an observation about human behavior. People judge each other all the time! I get weird and sometimes disgusted looks when I walk in public without my walker. I stumble, bob and weave. They think I’m drunk, not that maybe I have a physical condition.
Hey, I have a suggestion. Why don’t a few of us dress up like homeless people and hang around areas like the library back entrance, city buildings and let’s see who gets judged first! I’m game if you are. I think it will be a good social experiment and an interesting article to write about.
I’m speaking to your suggestion that staff get over themselves, which sounds a lot like an accusation of cowardice . . . which couldn’t be further from the truth.
I’m going to have to decline your immersion suggestion. Good luck. Part of the solution to the broader problem will be asking the public to challenge their perceptions of a variety of groups, including the homeless.
I don’t have any reason to think that that’s so in this case, Inge.
I live across Commonwealth from this homeless camp. Yes, they are more menacing. Yes we (the residents of my street) have interviewed them. Yes many are coming from (among other places) Anaheim (they were booted out of La Palma Park for drugs, according to one of them).
They are noisy at night. A group of them complained to city hall when the Hunt Library shut off its electricity because they couldn’t charge their cellphones (true story). They have been crossing the street into our neighborhood and leaving used needles and other foul paraphernalia on our streets and in our neighborhood park. I witness what looks to be strung out hookers now walking around our houses.
Since our block has been in contact over the past month with city hall, they have helped the situation. At one point we counted over 30 tents! Since yesterday, 23 arrests have been made for drug possession (just in that little Hunt-Branch lot). During some arrests yesterday, the police removed a queen size mattress out of a tent. They have menus circulating there for what food comes from what church on any given day).
These are not “homeless” people, these are “off the grid people” who are choosing to live there and endanger our neighborhood. The city has gone in and offered services to any mentally unstable, have offered alternative sites for them to go to (for those with medical problems), and not one “homeless” person wanted to (this was pre-drug raid). What makes it worse is all these organizations like Coast-to-Coast and several near by churches think they are helping by bringing in more tents and food. It does not help. They are living it up over there and are not being removed because of the threat of an ACLU injunction on the city (Kelly Thomas and the 2006 Superior Court homeless ruling in Los Angeles – even though they have been there for months now and there is a no camping ordinance in Fullerton).
So to answer your questions, it’s a shame that the Library closed because many people in our neighborhood liked it. It’s even more of a shame that these people are flocking to our neighborhood because they are getting a free ride with all the “help” many are giving them. I understand the humanitarian side of it, but I invite you to come look at what they do and how they live, and how it is polluting our neighborhood.
Entirely possible (the LaPalma Park thing). That’s the park in Anaheim that grew a homeless population exponentially over the last year and then at the start of the year the number dropped.
One thing I noticed is that they are now enforcing the “no overnight camping” rule which has long been unenforced. Adversely, this puts the homeless sleeping on sidewalks in the areas around the park.
Back to the subject of the area by the Hunt Library, Fullerton PD must have laid down the hammer and told them no camping in front of the library, because everyone moved up to the train tracks. It’s a dubious change, as now there’s a community of homeless next to the small dog park rather than next to the big dog park.
I came here (and remembered this article) online when I was looking this morning for a story I heard that Fullerton had shut down that encampment along the tracks sometime this week.
As a footnote, LaPalma Park is restocked with homeless, though not back to the high levels they *were* at. Not yet, anyway.
If you’ve lived in this neighborhood for long, you know that more than 30 years ago a house directly adjacent to Adlena Park was the site of the biggest drug bust west of the Mississippi. If you were here on 4th of July, people were firing mortar class firworks in the neighborhood. Another neighbor often has loud parties where arrests for drunkenness could easily be made. And I have another neighbor who’s domestic yelling far exceeds that of the former homeless camp.
If you take away 4th amendment rights (the case with the homeless) and enforce these offenses, we could then deamonize the whole neighborhood, build a big fence between east and west fullerton, and evict you and sell your land to a large organized church. It’s called the manufacture of consent. You fell for it. The Grace Church thanks you for building fences at YOUR expense to keep you away from THEIR new library property.
Not all homeless are bad people. I’m now one of them. Many of us are not given the chance to integrate back into society. Watch “No Stepping Stone For The Homeless” at Youtube. Btw, I think “living it up” and “free ride” is really stretching it. I’m offended!
It’s a shame to see the homeless demonized and evicted by bigots. Arrests are easy to generate when homeless have no 4th amendment rights. Those in Fullerton might remember that a house directly adjacent to Adlena Park was the site of what was then the largest drug bust west of the Mississippi. I’m sure if we also dismissed 4th admendment rights to search warrants to normal residents we could make lots of general arrests and stir fear for some manufacture of consent. People, for example, were firing mortar class fireworks (obviously illegal) in this neighborhood on 4th of July. Then we could sell the whole damn neighborhood to a large organized church! To use this manufacture of consent to sell my childhood public library is beyond words. Shame on Fullerton. What you forget is that good people are caught up in this. I suggest “No Stepping Stone For The Homeless” at Youtube. Someone just screaming for a chance. Shame!
I am creating a page which documents all of the many brutal
homeless camp clearings in California:
California Homelessness Reporter
http://www.california-homelessness-reporter.org/sample-page/homelessness-camp-evictions/
Please let me know of you hear of any that I have missed!
I want to apologize to those around what’s left of the Hunts Branch Library. I should of responded when I heard about everything going on . In case you don’t recognize the name I’m know as DINA and quite a few years ago I did all I could along with Andrea Taylor to help keep control of the homeless issue we worked really hard so the lives of all concerned could be bettered. What’s making me really sad is that I wasn’t told about what was happening. I loved the Library it was part of my life. Unfortunately I’m to far away to be of any help. I’m in Costa Rica. I’ve been here for over two years. I wish I could be there. I’m sorry that I’m not. Please if you know me let me know what is happening there. The last time I was in Fullerton was right after what happened to Kelly .
I remember going to Hunt’s library when I was at Pacific Elementary school. There was a path gate that lead to and from library and school fence at the time. Just like time everything changes. It was a bold well taken place green trees and grass and large art statues everywhere it was beautiful then. Now that 20 or so years has passed I was not surprised it stayed around as long as it did. Especially after Hunt’s factory closed down. Being that the area it was placed was so secluded is what made it so personal and beautiful at the time. Without the original keepers of the library there to take care of it. We as Fullerton past and present resident have lost what was a part of the glory years in Fullerton. Especially the original grounds that were there for Hunt’s factory. It was beautiful at the time all the walkways, waterfalls, lighting. I remember it when it was truly well taken care of in it’s true form. Just like any well established business which faces future changes it too is no more as a result of time and those that are no longer here that once appreciated it once the way it was. Let’s face it the money was never there to take care of such a large rich in taste modern estate in public hands with very little money to go around. That’s how I look at it. I did visit it a long time ago around 2009, 2010 and noticed a change greatly even then. I wrote this in response to just finding out it closed. Now I only have the memory’s now. I’m 41 yrs old so you can guess how long ago I was at Pacific Drive School that I remember going there at a time in it’s original state of being.
Unfortunate the property there has always been a place where homeless people venture to as far as I can remember. It has a history of homeless issues going way back just look it up on the web. When HUNT”S closed all it’s doors all the unfortunate people who had no where to go wen’t there so since then it has gotten a history now by word of mouth as well.
Too bad it isn’t a place of employment and opportunity like in the past when it was first built.
The geophysical location is off the beaten path and has become secluded from the rest of the area.