Residents Want Help with Homeless Camps

By Adrianna Weingold

CREATED Dec. 5, 2012

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  • Homeless camps in Cathedral City have residents outraged. They're tired of cleaning up trash from make-shift homes and want the city to do something about it. Video by kmir6.com

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CATHEDRAL CITY--Homeless camps in Cathedral City have residents outraged. They're tired of cleaning up trash from make-shift homes and want the city to do something about it.

Residents are concerned over possible health risks these camps could pose, and businesses nearby say they're tired of having their shopping carts stolen.
 
Hidden in the wash just steps from a busy shopping center in Cathedral City there are two homeless camps, an eyesore to neighbors like William Raebe. 
 
"They need help but they don't need to litter my area. My area is where I walk, where all the bicyclists walk through there and it's toxic," Raebe said.
 
It's also illegal. Many of these makeshift homes are made out of stolen shopping carts. Carts that belong to businesses like Big Lots.
 
"It's a never ending battle," said Big Lots Store Manager, Jay Schindler. "The carts are expensive, we're constantly having to order new carts and what they do with them I don't know. It's just an on-going problem."
 
We spoke with some of the people living in one of the encampments. They didn't want to speak on camera but said they were given notice by the city on Friday. They have two weeks to break-down camp and find another place to stay. 
 
In the mean time William has taken it upon himself to cleanup as much of the trash as he can. 
 
"I need some help," Raebe said. "Public works is helping, but the police don't seem to care."
 
Cathedral City Police say they're aware of the problem and they're taking steps to help out, however, the encampments are on tribal land so the process is slower.
 
--Adrianna Weingold
aweingold@kmir6.com