The number of homeless people in San Juan Capistrano, CA, is on the rise. There are many reasons for this, including the high cost of housing, lack of affordable apartments, insufficient homeless shelters and the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. When people are homeless, they may set up a temporary shelter. When several people do this in the same location, this is called a “tent city” or homeless encampment. Homeless encampments are illegal, and private property owners like you have the right to call law enforcement to remove the homeless people. Once those people are off your residential, industrial or commercial property in San Juan Capistrano, the debris is yours to handle. Eco Bear is a team of professional cleaners ready to take on any size of homeless encampment. We offer affordable and reliable homeless encampment cleaning services in San Juan Capistrano and the surrounding area.

What a Homeless Encampment Is

A homeless encampment is a grouping of several homeless individuals or families who have created temporary or makeshift shelters in one area. Some homeless encampments have a dozen occupants, while others can have 100 or more. The encampments may be dense or spread out over a large lot. Many encampments are hidden from the street, so you’d only see them if you walked up to them. Others are more noticeable. A homeless encampment may have illegal wiring and connections to utility poles, but it doesn’t have plumbing for water and sewage. No municipal services are provided to homeless encampments, so trash and waste accumulate. When people lose their homes, they may have pets. Many homeless encampments include dogs, cats and other animals. The makeshift shelters may be made of cardboard, tarps, tents or even plywood. 

Types of Hazards in Homeless Encampments

Homeless encampments have many biological, chemical and physical hazards. It’s not safe for an untrained person to attempt to clean the debris left behind when law enforcement clears a homeless encampment. Our cleaners wear personal protective equipment (PPE) to safely clean the hazards present in a homeless encampment. Some common hazards we find when cleaning homeless encampments in San Juan Capistrano:

  • Feces and urine
  • Vomit 
  • Blood
  • Pet waste
  • Rotted food and trash
  • Drugs and drug paraphernalia
  • Illegal wiring
  • Combustibles and fuels for heating and cooking
  • Broken glass and other sharp materials
  • Pests and vermin

Impact of Homeless Encampments on a Neighborhood

Even after law enforcement disperses the residents of a homeless encampment, the site still has a lot of impacts on the neighborhood. The area is an eyesore and makes passersby believe the property owners don’t care about the aesthetics. Passersby may believe the area is unsafe, so they might avoid it. If the homeless encampment is on a commercial property, customers may avoid going there out of fear or not wanting to deal with panhandling. When a homeless encampment is on or near a residential property, neighbors will feel unsafe. Property owners risk burglary, vandalism and other nuisance issues related to the homeless encampment and its aftermath. Residents may be frustrated by the mess and worried about potentially getting hurt by the debris at the homeless encampment site.

Why Professional Homeless Encampment Cleaning Is a Must

When dozens of people are told to leave the homeless encampment, they only get a few minutes to gather their belongings. They can only take what they’re able to carry, which results in a lot of things getting left at the encampment. This debris is an eyesore and danger to health and safety. Our skilled cleaners at Eco Bear wear PPE when accessing and cleaning the site. Our PPE includes goggles, face mask, gloves, apron or suit and rubber boots. We use proper disposal methods for biological and medical waste. This prevents you, your neighbors or guests from getting injured by stray debris. 

If a site of a former homeless encampment isn’t cleaned by the deadline set by code enforcement, you could face costly fines. The deadline may be as short as 10 to 14 days. There might be so much debris that cleaning it yourself would be impossible. Eco Bear has a big crew of fully trained cleaners who are up to the task of cleaning any size of homeless encampment in San Juan Capistrano.

How Eco Bear Cleans Homeless Encampments

We begin with a site assessment. This gives us information about the size and scope of the homeless encampment and what it contains. We use this information to plan the number of dumpsters and the type of waste disposal for the debris. If there are illegal wiring hookups, we work with the utility company for safe disconnections.

Our three-step process for cleaning homeless encampments in San Juan Capistrano includes cleanup of the debris. Some common items we find include papers and books, rotted food, cooking utensils, clothing, toys and bedding. When we find contaminated items or biological waste, we separate it for proper removal and disposal in accordance with California’s public health and safety requirements.

The next step is disinfection. We use cleaning agents that kill all types of viruses and bacteria that may be present in a homeless encampment. This prevents infections from MRSA, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C and HIV. The final step is remediation. We remove all traces of the homeless encampment and restore the site to its natural state.

Benefits of Choosing Eco Bear for San Juan Capistrano Homeless Encampment Cleaning

Eco Bear’s fast response time means you won’t have to wait long to have your property cleaned. Our attention to detail ensures that no trace of the homeless encampment remains. We respect you and your property, and we provide documentation of our cleaning processes.