Volunteers from the Life Church helped residents of a homeless encampment get started on giving their space a cleanup on July 5.
Lonnie Platz, the Youth Pastor at the church, says he is familiar with many of the residents as he has been bringing down a hot meal for them since September last year. So, it felt natural for him to volunteer to help them with their efforts.
“We helped them get a head start on it… and it’s kind of an ongoing thing,” he says. “We’re going to try and maybe get another dumpster put out there on the front side.”
The idea for the cleanup came after town council had received a report about the conditions at the camp. One area of concern was dealing with some of the garbage that is out there. From there, Platz stepped in to organize a day of cleaning.
Garbage options limited at encampment
He says some of the garbage is similar to what most people have, except they didn’t have a lot of options for disposing of it. As a result, a lot of things just piled up.
“There is a dumpster, but it’s farther north,” says Platz. “We almost need another one that is closer. Even if it’s just for household weekly stuff.”
In other cases, Platz says it was difficult for some residents to part with items. He says some of them struggle to part with items as they may have a use for them down the road and they might not have the means to replace them at that time. In other cases, residents struggled to let go of certain things because owning things was a comfort for them.
“Some of them don’t like the over-collecting that happens. And for some of them, that’s kind of where they find value in a lot of ways,” says Platz.
Another factor in the situation is the lack of areas to wash some items. Water is a scarce resource out there, and little of it is used for washing laundry. As a result, the residents will dispose of clothing if it gets too dirty.
Platz says some of the garbage is a biohazard, and he would like to see more efforts at providing them with a space to put their waste.
“We have a homeless community; lots of places do. It is what it is. Do we all want it to be different? Yeah. But it’s kind of everywhere,” he says. “My message is, how about we have the [cleanest], kindest, most caring homeless community possible?”
He says the residents don’t have a way of disposing of biohazards or washing. Platz worries about when they come into town and touch doorknobs or other things that people often use.
When Platz goes to visit the community, he says he’s not focused on sharing his religion. Instead, his goal is to model good values by treating everyone with respect and kindness and taking the time to listen to them.
Future work bee in the works
He says he believes it has started to rub off. Some of the individuals at the camp haven’t necessarily experienced being loved or cared for in a healthy way, and Platz says they may struggle with some forms of societal etiquette that many take for granted.
While Platz can’t organize volunteers to help with the cleanup every weekend, he says he plans to organize another work bee in the fall. Right now, many of the residents are in cleanup mode and are doing what they can to keep the area tidier.
In the meantime, Platz says he will continue to bring the residents food and care for those who need it.
