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Volunteers clean up homeless camp
Mounds of fetid trash are dug up and bagged by volunteers with Operation THUGS as they tried to clean up a homeless encampment between Cordelia Road and the Amtrak railway tracks Saturday morning in Suisun. (Conner Jay/Daily Republic)
FAIRFIELD — Brian Brown, 11, was left holding the bag. His friend, Darrell Reddick, 9, labored behind a shovel.
Brown and Reddick were two of the nearly 50 volunteers who gave up time last weekend and joined with faith-based Operation THUGS, which stands for The Harvest Unit Gathering Souls, to clean up a homeless camp.
“If we don’t do it, no one else will,” Brian Brown, the father of the 11-year-old with the same name, said Saturday. “Everyone needs help.”
Operation THUGS is a collection of Christians, some of whom have cut ties with their past that included being in a gang, using drugs or alcohol. Members minister to those who are often invisible to society: the homeless, prostitutes and gang members.
The camp was discovered at Christmastime. Since then, Operation THUGS and volunteers have been delivering food and clothing to the residents. Then, one of the camp’s inhabitants spoke up and said the help they really needed was to get the camp cleaned up. They were facing an eviction.
Larry Bluford Jr., president and founder of Operation THUGS rallied local churches, as well as Fairfield City Councilwoman Pam Bertani and Solano Garbage operations manager Tony Cincotta, to get behind the idea.
A donated Dumpster was delivered a day before the cleanup. When volunteers arrived the next morning, it was nearly filled.
“The homeless have started cleaning up already,” Bluford told the volunteers. “That’s more of a blessing. They are trying to help themselves.”
There was still plenty of work to be done. So much, in fact, that in addition to a full Dumpster, volunteers also filled several industrial-strength plastic bags with trash.
Once Bluford knew of the camp, he said he couldn’t turn away.
“Knowing that people slept there when it was raining, my heart bled for them,” he said. “They are people, too. A lot of them are rejected all day.”
Some people, he said, are just one choice away from being in the same situation.
“Any one of us could be that person,” Bluford said. “It could be they just took a left turn instead of a right turn. A lot of them just need a little hope.”
Ariel Ramos was one of the volunteers. He said he lived on the streets once.
“A lot of these people I know,” he said. “I was homeless a long time.”
He remembered people passing by and not acknowledging his existence.
“You come to believe no one loves you,” Ramos said. “We want to show these people some love.”
Message received, said one resident of the camp.
“I’m speechless,” he said as the volunteers arrived and went straight to work. “I never thought there were so many people that cared.”
He spent the previous afternoon and evening tossing things in the Dumpster.
“I feel I need to give something back,” he said.
The health ministry at Mount Calvary Baptist Church sent Nicole Barnett, a registered nurse, and Hope Glenn, a gastrointestinal technician, to do a quick assessment on the camp’s inhabitants who wished to see the pair. They tended to a wound, listened to some coughs and referred patients to health and social services.
“It’s all about doing what we can,” Barnett said.
“What we do is a ministry,” Glenn said. “We’re here to do God’s work.”
Tony Adams of Mount Calvary’s evangelism team praised the effort.
“The walls are broken down,” he said. “Praise God.”
Cleanup took about 90 minutes, thanks to many hands. A variety of items were found, including a baby stroller, car headlight and a good-size chunk of a seat from a car. Residents from other homeless camps also showed up to pitch in with the cleanup.
For information about Operation THUGS, visit www.operationTHUGS.org.
Reach Amy Maginnis-Honey at 427-6957 or amaginnis@dailyrepublic.net. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/amaginnisdr.
Amy Maginnis-Honey
Discussion | 26 comments
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Cyndi MooreFebruary 07, 2013 - 6:57 am
I think this is a wonderful thing that Larry Bluford is doing for the Homeless people out there in Cali. I never helped a Homeless person before but have a new light on this & will help out a homeless person when I can. It makes me sad to see pictures of how these folks live. My heart breaks for them. Mr. Bluford has a very kind heart to do this. May God be with Mr. Bluford & with the Homeless people to.
Reply |Larry D. Bluford, Jr.February 07, 2013 - 7:36 am
Wow, Amy did such a great job on this article. Very well written. Thank you so much for coming out and being interested about what Operation THUGS, Inc. is doing in our community. Thank you to everyone who came out. Special thanks to Laura Calderon for getting us this opportunity to bring awareness to what is going on in our communities. Special thanks to Pam Bertani for helping us get connected to the right people. Special thanks to Tony Cincotta of Solano Garbage for donating the garbage bin. Last but not least special thanks to all of the members of Operation THUGS, and all the church members and other organizations who helped out.
Reply |Alicia MooreFebruary 07, 2013 - 8:42 am
This is so great!! I love being part of operation thugs family, my family has finally found an way to give back to the community who has done so much for us, just last yr we were staying @ bridge to life where we met Larry Bluford an introduced to the operation thug family they gave us the e best Christmas I've ever experienced, we've never had so much love shown to us!!! We are eternally thankful to operation thugs family for everything they've done not only for changing our lives but changing so many lives, It feels so good to be able to give back the love an compassion, this is a lifetime project for my family, Ty for giving us this opportunity to show others the love an compassion you've graciously gave to us, because of you Larry Bluford, an Pastor ron an vicki, operation thugs family, we have found the love of Jesus christ, you are my families inspiration, an shown us the opportunity to give to those in need, All love an respect to our operation thugs family!!!
Reply |Laura CalderonFebruary 07, 2013 - 9:10 am
I second Larry’s comments on Amy. She and the photographer, Conner Jay, showed so much compassion and understanding and it shows in this article. Perfectly captured. Thanks again! Larry, you are the most humble servant of God that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting in my life. I am honored to know you- your heart is large. What Operations THUGS does is exactly what is mentioned in this article, ministering to the invisibles, reaching the unreachables, and all with no judgments just compassion and just like Ariel said, showing them God’s love. May we all truly live like that. Blessings.
Reply |MsAnnieTylerFebruary 07, 2013 - 10:00 am
maybe if we gave these ppl jobs they wouldn't have to be homeless…?
Reply |larry blufordFebruary 07, 2013 - 10:36 pm
beautiful...but if we have people with education and homes out of work, how do you think the homeless can have a chance at getting a job? Not all but some of these people are willing to work. Some of the signs they hold us are saying "WILL WORK" problem is we don't think they are worthy.
Reply |Abraham RossFebruary 07, 2013 - 9:21 am
Thanks for coming out Amy, that was a great day. The wounds the nurses treated were my burns from a completely unrelated event. I thank both of them & I'm started to heal up now.
Reply |Abraham RossFebruary 07, 2013 - 9:55 am
Pressed a couple wrong buttons and lost my ability to follow the thread!
Reply |John in SuisunFebruary 07, 2013 - 3:19 pm
While this is a nice story, I think it is important to remember that the homeless people dragged all of that junk there for others to clean up. That stuff did not just magically appear there.
Reply |larry blufordFebruary 07, 2013 - 10:34 pm
John in suisun, they dragged the garbage there? So what is the alternative? They hustle for food, clothing ect all day and you expect them to do what? it wasn't trash when they brought it there, so I'm trying to figure out what you think they should do with their trash since they aren't on the route??? (trash route). Walk to the landfill?
Reply |TimFebruary 07, 2013 - 5:53 pm
Yes this is a nice gesture to help them clean up, But whats the next step? The shelters are there but the shelters have rules. People end up in camps because they aren't willing to follow the rules to the shelter. Whats the difference between us not following a law and them not following a rule? Im not insensitive but We shouldnt be promoting the idea of living in a camp when there are so many other options out there.
Reply |PaulFebruary 07, 2013 - 6:37 pm
Not to sound negative, but step back and think about the four internet cover pages this week by the DR. 1. About a poor girl murdered in Fairfield 2. and 3. about parole stories 4 About a homeless camp clean-up. What does this say about our community, lack of jobs, lack of positive events that perhaps would stop crime, stop the homeless situations, gangs,etc.. it goes on and on. We need jobs. We need leaders who promote jobs.
Reply |larry blufordFebruary 07, 2013 - 10:27 pm
Ok, I must comment.... First of all Tim, who did you get your information from? Is it just an assumption or is it because you know. Now I agree maybe SOME don't follow rules I won't deny that as being an issue but do you know that homeless shelters require you to have and ID? Did you know that all homeless people DO NOT have an ID and in order to obtain an ID you have to have a birth certificate? Do you know where your birth certificate is? Oh wait I forgot you live in a house so it may be in a file cabinet. While I was out there cleaning, I didn't see any file cabinet. Maybe if instead of judging and throwing assumptions out there you could ask questions and get clarification to what is the real problem. You say we shouldn't be promoting it cause there is so many other options out there? Well name them....What are the options?
Reply |larry blufordFebruary 07, 2013 - 10:31 pm
@Paul, not to sound negative but you sound negative. The news reports...THE NEWS. If that is what is going on, should we keep it secret? Instead of complaining about what we don't have, help us meet the need of the don't have's. These people where homeless BEFORE the lack of jobs and by the way there are plenty of POSITIVE events going on.
Reply |PaulFebruary 07, 2013 - 10:49 pm
@Larry... Your feedback is appreciated. I was being negative. Because I am trying to get people to realize the problems in our society!!! Think about what is causing the problems and fix them. The stories about the parole and homeless clean up are heartwarming, but my point is look at the root cause that iniates homeless camps and crime. Lack of jobs. And by the way, I have taken in homeless. I have seen the pain first hand.
Reply |larry blufordFebruary 07, 2013 - 10:38 pm
I'm very disappointed but NOT suprised at the compassion most people have for the homeless. They view you have of them as if they don't deserve to be loved, cared for, reached out to. Almost as if they are a waste. Your comments reveal how you feel about them. No questions as to what can we do to help but condemnation. Amazing.
Reply |Mr. PracticalFebruary 08, 2013 - 8:18 am
Larry, every situation is different. I've seen the residents of this came come and go for more than ten years. Most resources for the homeless are based on their wanting help to integrate back into society. This group,like others, may have become homeless because of drug addiction or some unfortunate circumstance, but those have chosen this lifestyle and don't really want help. They have become a public nuisance and at times a public safety risk.
Reply |CD BrooksFebruary 08, 2013 - 9:22 am
Over many years I was involved in helping to clean up these sites against the will of the "residents" having them move on and saw enough UGH than I care to remember. As a night traveler through the city I had plenty of encounters and you might be surprised at the lengths and locations these folks will go for a hand out and shelter. Our society and our government contributed to this epidemic while turning their backs on America and ignoring policies and laws that were in place to protect us. Sure you can blame the “bums,” for any number of health related or self-inflicted maladies. Or those “hobos” that just don’t want to work or be part of society. But why have they become so prevalent in every city in every state? I'm not speaking of "entitlements," because job outsourcing and cutting funds at facilities for the mentally disabled and failed rehab institutions are no one’s idea of a good thing. Then cutting back law enforcement and funding/room for those needing to be incarcerated has contributed to this monster. If our government is granting asylum and “forgiveness” for any number of untold trespasses and illegal activity by foreigners and allowing the reduction in time spent in prison for crimes, then they owe law abiding American citizens better. Anything less is unacceptable in my opinion.
Reply |Mr. PracticalFebruary 08, 2013 - 2:12 pm
The group in this camp are what were referred to in the past as "bums." They hang out all day downtown, intimidating residents, business owners and visitors. The police are unable to do anything unless they are seen breaking the law. Most of them carry cards given to them by the ACLU and flash them at a moments notice if approached. There used to be vagrancy laws that apparently have no teeth anymore.
Reply |CD BrooksFebruary 08, 2013 - 4:38 pm
Mr. Practical, those are the types we DON'T need causing problems. But as the saying goes, one bad apple...Not sure what the answer is but hopefully somebody will figure it out soon. Hope you guys are well, say hi for us!
Reply |larry blufordFebruary 08, 2013 - 8:48 pm
@Mr. Practical, Intimidating residents...lol. People always are afraid of what they don't understand.
Reply |CD BrooksFebruary 09, 2013 - 7:01 am
Mr. Bluford, yes people are intimidated and they DO understand. There is a line Sir, and some of the homeless (and let's be real, most folks don't know the difference anymore about who's who), often cross it so I think your argument is at best, disingenuous. Many years ago in SF, they actually had to create boundaries around ATM's to prevent what was termed “aggressive panhandling." Personally, I am not easily moved and I can tell you their presence in certain situations often makes me uncomfortable.
Reply |larry blufordFebruary 08, 2013 - 8:46 pm
@Mr. Practical, Most don't want help? Out of 10 homeless people I have found that 2 may not want help. And the reason they don't want help is because they have adapted to living that way. How do you tell someone who has been living homeless for 17 years that you want to help them? Help them what? Get a job? With no skills, no education. Their heart has grown cold and callus from all the rejection from the public. A public nuisance? How so?
Reply |Mr. PracticalFebruary 09, 2013 - 7:43 am
Larry, while your comments may generally correct, I was speaking to the particular residents of the camp you helped clean up. Again, I've gotten to know these folks over a 10 year period. I definately understand.
Reply |The SugarJarFebruary 08, 2013 - 6:55 pm
@ Larry Bluford--I hope you keep up the good works. Sounds like you are doing what you need to do. That the homeless as a group are seen by some as victims or by others as causing their own fate may be frustrating, but carry on and perhaps you will help make a difference in someone's life. And perhaps you may change the mind of someone who is not homeless. Even those seemingly beyond hope or change do deserve a bit of humanity now and then.
Reply |larry blufordFebruary 08, 2013 - 8:52 pm
I appreciate your comments. And I will. As an ex-felon, as a person who lived a life of crime and violence since 14, I'm glad someone didn't think I was beyond hope. By caring for these people we have given them hope. At first they wouldn't even talk to us now we have developed relationships with these people. They are beginning to care for themselves and want change. All because we sacraficed some time to show them love.
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