Effort Seeks to Move Homeless Out of Area

A plan to stop homeless people from camping in the Oak View Community Center and a nearby park includes handing out brochures and providing one-on-one counseling, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

Beginning this week, deputies will meet with homeless people living at the park and community center. Deputies will write down the campers’ names and give them brochures with the locations and telephone numbers of shelters, food banks and other social services. At that time, the homeless will be asked to use the resources and leave their encampment, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

A week later, deputies accompanied by a representative from the county’s Homeless Services Program will revisit the site. People remaining at the center then will receive individual counseling about how to seek help, the Sheriff’s Department said.

The program was developed after area residents complained about the homeless encampment.

Homeless people who continue to camp in the park after the two visits by sheriff’s deputies could be cited under the county’s law that prohibits the use of, or camping in, a county park after hours, according to the Sheriff’s Department.