Homeless Encampments

Since the 2008 housing crisis, Southern California has had a surge in homeless encampments. Because of our specialty in handling hazardous wastes—bio hazardous (i.e. feces, urine, vomit, needles), oils, acids, aerosols—we now perform homeless encampment cleanups for some of the largest government agencies in Southern California. We currently perform Homeless cleanups for:

Orange County Department of Public Works
Caltrans
City of Downey
City of Temple City
City of Lakewood
City of Inglewood

Los Angeles County Department of Public Works
Port of Long Beach
City of Long Beach
City of Covina
City of Pico Rivera
City of Redondo Beach

The first ever surveyed census data by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. See here for full article.

Hypodermic Needles

Ocean Blue has recovered thousands of syringes from homeless encampments. These are the single largest risk factor in these projects. Ocean Blue personnel are trained in the safe-handling of syringes and sharps. These dangerously infectious needles are carefully retrieved with special long reach tools and puncture proof gloves. Once recovered they are immediately placed into a medical safety container for proper disposal.

"[Regarding hypodermic Needles found at homeless camps] We once had local volunteers come out to help clean the homeless camps. The volunteer program quickly ended when one of the volunteers picked-up a bundle of trash and was poked by a potentially HIV-infected needle"

-Los Angeles Government Official

Citizens will often report the homelessness to the municipality; either joggers/bicyclists reporting the odors & unsightliness along bike paths, or home-owners reporting stolen bicycles and car break–ins. In turn with local municipalities, law enforcement and social services groups, we perform homeless encampment cleanups. At the time of writing, this year alone Ocean Blue has done over 300 homeless encampment cleanups within Southern California.

Depending on the terrain, we utilize different cleanup strategies. Near the L.A. River, were the terrain is concrete, the homeless will reside underneath bridges. The river's embankments--sometimes rocky & steep--are layered in dirty clothing, syringes, broken bottles, food and paper wastes.

Technicians cleaning homeless garbage from underground storm drains.

Depending on application, we use stake-beds or bins to move debris

In Eastern Los Angeles County, near the San Gabriel river, the terrain is very wide & natural. The homeless establish their encampments in the brush. During job walks, we can only see tents bordering a wooded area, but we can safely assume the encampment stretches into the woods. Because of the flat/dirt terrain, heavy equipment is strongly utilized. To conduct a homeless encampment we:

Statement of Procedures available upon request

Different Governments do things differently

The Homeless crisis is a currently sensitive, hot-debated issue. Among burglaries, illegal drug proliferation and class-action lawsuits, municipalities are held accountable to their respective approach towards homelessness. However the local government presides, Ocean Blue caters its services to its client's needs. Whether we perform homeless encampment cleanings for the State, County, City or Private establishments, Ocean Blue understands different agencies wish to approach homelessness in a respective form & manner. Whether it be to segregate "life-essential items", or using heavy equipment to quickly dispose loads of garbage, or waiting for Law-enforcement protection, Ocean Blue approaches each homeless encampment differently depending on the client's needs.

The Homeless and their own Government & Infrastructure

Unemployed, drug addition and mental illness are just a few ways to describe the varieties of homeless people. Interestingly enough each homeless encampments has its own, distinct anthropological footprint; the Orange County Register reports: