Stockton's homeless population reaches Calaveras River island, raising jurisdiction questions
STOCKTON – Stockton's homeless population is making its way to the Calaveras River and there are questions as to whose jurisdiction it is to manage it and clean it up.
Residents in the area are fed up, airing their concerns on social media and complaining the problem doesn't seem to have an end.
If you take a look just down the embankment off River Drive, there's an encampment right inside an island.
Neighbors said this has been a problem for years, so much so that those who live here have created a makeshift barge to get to and from the shore.
Residents said they don't know what to do next.
"For eight or nine years now, since I've been here, since I was 10 years old," said Kerlyn Garcia.
"They used to have homeless camps all around here," said John Killen. "Under the bridge. Down at the end. They're still on the island."
Killen has lived along the river for years. According to him, trash, abandoned cars and the encampment are problems he frequently faces.
"We get people that enjoy this river all the time," Killen said. "They'll come up and see me working and ask me what happened. I just say it's Stockton."
Stockton Public Works confirmed they've had to pull barges, made with 55-gallon drums bound together by plywood, out of the water multiple times.
Neighbors witnessed them as well.
"They were walking around and over but now I've noticed they've been docking barges or abandoned boats," Killen said. "There's quite a few you see once in a while."
While neighbors say the litter and encampment size has gone down, it's still a concern for not only their property and safety but the overall health of the Calaveras River.
"At night they come," Garcia said. "There's always a lot of arguing and violence. Mostly it's cool, peaceful. Except for the homeless people."
"It's a sad thing," Killen said. "I even have a daughter that's homeless. Trying to get them off the street is a whole other thing. They don't want to go."
CBS13 reached out to the city and Stockton police, who said it's not their jurisdiction and there are some discrepancies.
They say public works is working to address those issues and determine who is responsible whether that's the state, county or city.
