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Homeless living in Santa Maria storage units

March 28, 2015

storage homelessHomeless people have moved into multiple storage units in Santa Maria creating safety, theft and trespassing issues. [KEYT]

In some cases, the occupants rented the units before moving in. And while some of the tenants claim they have paid their rent, the owners of the storage facilities do not agree that they can live there.

Stephen French, the regional director for I Storage, told KEYT that the units are for storage only.

“Obviously, that’s something we can’t allow for safety reasons,” French said. “If they’re living there, then it means they’re cooking in there, and it becomes a very dangerous situation.”

In other cases, people have broken into units, stole many of the renter’s belongings and then set up house.

“Someone urinated and defecated in my unit,” Shannon Fletcher said of her I Storage rental. “They stole everything they could pawn or sell, and everything else was pretty much destroyed or ruined.”

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This is what happens during a depression. And don’t tell yourself that this is not a depression. Can anyone imagine what our nation would look like if poor folks had to stand in soup kitchen lines today? We are in the midst of a hidden depression…the government sends the soup kitchen to the poor via the mail. No need to stand in line and the absence of those lines looks better for our greasy politicians. I know we have always had homeless and always will but I never thought our homeless problem would be ignored by media and hidden from view by our so called leaders.

It’s worse than ever and no one seems to care. If we had a different person from a different political party in charge in DC and Sac town we would hear nothing else but homeless issues.


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It’s pretty amazing to see the vitriol being spewed here towards the homeless; do most of you realize that unless you are so secure by having your home fully paid off and an emergency fund of six months of income saved up, most of us are two or three paychecks away from being homeless ourselves? It is entirely possible that many homeless people have made some really bad decisions, and some of them also will try to “game the system” to benefit themselves as much as possible, but does that really justify demonizing everyone who does not have a roof over their head?

And the “solutions” for homelessness being offered up here; that’s some real “compassionate conservatism” most of you have going there.


How about a different take on solving the issue? Utah is very conservative (duh), but they did something very unusual in trying to solve their homelessness issue; they weighed the cost of all of the usual support costs for various homeless programs versus what it cost to simply furnish housing for anyone who did not have a place to live; guess what has happened? They have almost completely eliminated homelessness in Utah by doing the unthinkable, giving the homeless a place to live. <a href="http://guardianlv.com/2014/01/utah-solves-homelessness-by-giving-away-homes/&quot; Read the link, think about it and then give us all a good reason why this is a “bad idea” …


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Oh boy, did I mess up that link. :(


http://guardianlv.com/2014/01/utah-solves-homelessness-by-giving-away-homes/


Please click on this instead, thanks.


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That’s a lie that the homeless lobby propagates. Come spend the day in Mitchell park. You will see the real homeless. Drug dealing, drinking, sleeping in the grass all day, yelling and screaming at people.


If people were two checks away from homelessness, we would all have homeless family members and friends.


There is no homeless. There are bums and the population of bums is growing exponentially.


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I live two blocks from Mitchell Park; I pass through there once a week or so, and have never been accosted, never been yelled at, or felt “threatened” in any manner. I certainly have seen many of the homeless-by-choice® crowd, some milling about with others, some sleeping on the grass; but more to the my point- what do you think of what Utah has done to eliminate homelessness ? Are they wrong in their approach? If so, how?


To address your comment “There is no homeless. There are bums …” so, what do you call those who are homeless but also have jobs? Are they still “bums” even though they have a job?


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Unfortunately, certain non-profits have made an industry out of the homeless and they have become the unwitting victims. I believe drugs and alcohol are the pathways to a lot of the mental illness. Additionally, becoming homeless leads to isolation which often time will lead also to mental illness. These people should find a job and not become dependent on government handouts which lead to a form of slavery


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Most storage facilities are 7 to 7pm. All entry and exits are recorded automatically to storage program. Each morning manager should check the print out that shows activity of every unit.Print out shows when tenant entered facility and left…..If there is no evidence of a tenant leaving it should be investigated immediately. Breaking into units, where are the alarms.

If I was owner of this facility first thing to do is get rid of Manager….


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This has been going on for years. The Morro Bay @ Quintana storage has had numerous complaints of people using storage as homes. The problems? The owners just want to collect rent and look the other way. The police will not bother busting people they cannot make money from in fines. A large percentage of police calls & complaints deal with the Homeless. There is no profit to be made as the homeless don’t mind some jail time. Free baths and food for a few days are just perks for breaking the law. Nothing to lose. On the other hand, cops don’t want to bother with the paperwork for revolving doors. As for “compassionate” folks who give cash to these bums, how about donating money to a single working parent who has two jobs and no free time.


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It’s time to end homelessness. The way to do that is eliminate all government and private programs enabling these filthy bums and mark it a $500 fine to give a nickel to a vim. Guess what, homelessness will end in 6 months.


Whatever you subsidize you get more!


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Bum not vim.


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Mental illness and drug addiction are two of the main causes of homelessness in the US. These people will live in the creeks and on the sidewalks. They will steal and rob to get money and we’ll go broke paying to put them on trial and then to put them in jail.

Homeless people need shelter and support systems. It’s far less expensive and far more humane.


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Shelter and support systems are supposed to come from family. In order to be homeless, you have to have alienated yourself from every person who has ever cared about you, likely by robbing and stealing from them.


The programs currently in place only enable and increase this way of life. Time for a fresh start and some new ideas.


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Common sense isn’t common any more.


Most of us have encountered people along the way here in SLO county, and you walk away wondering how the heck some people even function. The answer is, they don’t.


I am not sure what has happened; do we have 1-2 generations of failed parenting? We are so busy trying to meet society’s ideal as to what makes a “great” parent that the parent practically wraps the child in bubble wrap. As a child, I was sent out all day long to ride my bike, “play outside”, drink from a water hose, all with no sunblock or helmet. The only rule I remember was to be home before the street lights came on. If I got in a fight with a friend, WE worked it out; our “mommies” didn’t have some argument over which kid was “the bad one”…… because they weren’t there and THAT’s LIFE, FIGURE IT OUT.


As a teen, I couldn’t wait to turn 16. On my birthday I was at the DMV, ready to take and pass my test. I had a “starter car” ready to roam! License in hand, I was ready to navigate my small town and the larger City nearby. My parents didn’t show me around; I simply watched them all my life as they drove and took it all in. Kids these days have their noses in their phone and don’t seem to want to drive right away. More and more parents are having to PUSH their kids in to independence.


So, what’s my point? There is a younger generation that cannot fill out forms, does not know what a budget is. They honestly don’t know how to dress for an interview vs court vs a night out on the town. They truly believe teal blue hair and 4 piercings in their face should be allowed at any job they want. For many of us “older” (ok, 35+) persons out in society, that seems insane. This stuff should be common sense! Oh, but it isn’t.


We also have a group in SLO called the “resistant” homeless. They are actually up to 40% of the homeless population. They are disillusioned millenials, deadbeat dads trying to avoid child support, youth with horrible drug using parents that had no guidance other than poverty and homelessness themselves. This population is not mentally ill or addicted; they are simply “resistant” to services. Why SHOULD they try? The system is stacked against them. They will never be able to afford housing and the costs of living, so why even stress?


There is multigenerational homelessness. This is how it is.


The issue of homelessness is complex. Not everyone is homeless for the same reasons. Not everyone has normal, loving family support to alienate. Not even ONE. Research shows that it is really hard to change long, learned behaviors when there was not even ONE positive role model.


There is a pilot program going through DSS right now. It is only for families on CALWORKS (welfare). They are trying to house people and get them off the streets. It is expensive here on the Central Coast, but this population needs the structure and consistency of one on one case management in order for them to actually learn how to function “normally”, getting up on time for work, how to pay bills.


I think the idea and theory for this is good. And honestly, any true “Christian” would want to ‘teach the man to fish’. I am hesistant about the long term success in SLO county, simply because our local economy has historically been unfriendly to low skilled, working families. The rents are very high and the job market isn’t so great.


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Lock the doors, load the containers and ship them out.


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The owners and managers must be brain dead and lazy. How can this activity go unnoticed and unchecked? These people living in the units are guilty of criminal trespassing. Renting a unit only gives you the right to enter and use the property for certain purposes, at certain times. It doesn’t give the renter a license to enter at any time and use the unit for any purpose.


Call the cops and make a citizens’ arrest. Get photographic evidence. Set up lights and cameras.


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This isn’t just happening in Santa Maria…..


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