Midway City is situated in Orange County, a southern California county that has seen more than its fair share of homeless encampments. In only a few short years, homeless people who started out living in cars have slowly established or found existing homeless encampments in Midway City. The increase in this “car to encampment” population has grown by over 85% in just that short span of time.

Government and concerned citizens have watched these unhealthy encampments appear in the city and devoted themselves to compassionate clean up and relocation of the homeless population to safer places in Midway City and beyond. The reasons for this have nothing to do with politics. It’s a simple matter of public health.

Homeless Encampments Are Dangerous

We wish that the homeless could actually establish a “tent city” that was both sanitary and safe for them to live in, but the reality of those tent cities doesn’t work that way. These encampments quickly become home to rodents, insects, human fluids that are teeming with diseases, and pose a major risk to public health (both for passersby and to the homeless themselves). 

People often forget that middle age European cities sometimes had to function almost like our modern tent cities because they didn’t have the knowledge we have today of diseases and how they spread. The Black Death, a plague that spread from 1347 to 1351, is believed to have been caused by rodent infestations. Fleas infested and infected the rodents, and then rodents roaming the streets and enclosures of European homes then infected humans. 

Modern tent cities also have the potential to carry infectious diseases and other types of diseases that someone can catch if they live in this kind of environment. Consider that a modern homeless encampment might contain:

  • Human urine and feces
  • Pet urine and feces
  • Trash
  • Decomposing dead animals
  • Blood and other bodily fluids
  • Rotting food
  • Flies and maggots

Does this sound like an encampment that simply provides a home for people with nowhere to go? Does it sound like any place you’d want your loved ones living for even a moment?

Eco Bear Cleans Homeless Encampments

Encampments crop up in all areas of Midway City. They might be established close to people’s homes, but more commonly they crop up outside of businesses or on business property. Most commonly they appear on public property, and that presents Midway City government with a unique challenge. Removing the homeless and clearing the encampments sometimes makes people uneasy, but if you’ve ever been near one of these encampments, you know that no one is safe when they’re allowed to continue.

The populations of these cities will vary. There will inevitably be people who are just temporarily down on their luck and looking for a few nights somewhere. More often than not, they have many residents who are severely mentally ill and perhaps even dangerously mentally ill (due to lack of treatment). Substance abuse is one of the pervading causes of homelessness as well (and ironically, homeless lifestyles often cause substance abuse, too). Crime is a part of life here, too, as illegal substances sometimes result in dumping of illegal drug paraphernalia like syringes. These syringes are one of the most dangerous items you’ll find at an encampment, and they are always a biohazard.

How We Safely Clean Encampments

When businesses or government leaders call us to clean and sanitize homeless encampments in Midway City, we schedule at a time that’s right for them, not us. Our crews are always ready to be dispersed on a scene like this when everyone has been relocated and the area stabilized and ready for our work. 

Our team is protected by all the latest PPE (personal protective equipment). Examples of the gear we use include respirators, masks, goggles, gloves, and of course, our uniforms. Depending on the level of biohazards at a homeless encampment, we may need to wear special protective uniforms that allow us to work without coming into contact with any materials at the site.

The bulk of our work involves removing things at the site: trash and other clutter. Other types of garbage that we must remove are classified as biohazards and will take special care and gear to safely remove from the site. Once the initial cleanup is complete, we move to sanitation. This requires the use of disinfectants and industrial odor removal products that help us further clean the area. Finally, we restore the area to its initial condition or work with city personnel, business owners, or private property owners to leave the property in a condition that’s restored to their satisfaction.

Call Eco Bear

Homeless encampments are sadly going to be a part of our cities for a long time. Orange County especially has a large homeless population, and concerned people are always going to be looking to safe and compassionate alternatives to unhealthy, dangerous encampments. We do our part by providing affordable homeless encampment cleanups. In most cleanups we do, we’re able to provide rates that are 50% less than what our competitors offer. This is keeping with our philosophy of compassion and understanding. When we do our job for less, people benefit during what is always a stressful time. Nothing is quite as stressful as having a situation on your hands where you need a biohazard cleanup service. We hope you will consider us for your project. If you have any questions, connect with Eco Bear at your earliest convenience. Our friendly, professional team will be there for you and provide a quick, accurate quote (or just good information to help out). Thanks.