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Carl Henrich, of Lodi, cleans up garbage and weeds in an alley in central Lodi on Saturday. Roughly 30 people, many of them homeless residents, picked up a total of 2,880 pounds of old mattresses, tires, beds, bottles, cans and other items. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)
'Felt good to help'
Homeless residents clean up Eastside alleys
For one morning on the Eastside, they weren't seen as society's black eye.
They weren't considered lazy or a drain on the community.
No, the two dozen homeless residents this weekend that helped clean up three local alleyways were viewed as part of the solution, for a change.
"We're not all that bad," said Gary Columbus, who's lived on Lodi's streets the past six years, his hands caked with dirt Monday morning. "It felt good that I got to help, everybody did."
The homeless residents, along with several neighbors and community leaders, hauled away 2,880 pounds of old mattresses, beds, tires, bottles, cans and other junk in the alleys near Main Street on Saturday, said Ray Jaramillo, whose company — Pride Landscape and Concrete of Lodi — provided trucks and a trailer.
Virginia Snyder, who formed a homeless outreach group this winter, spearheaded the cleanup.
Several people involved said they'd never heard of a similar effort.
One longtime city official said the Salvation Army rallied homeless residents about a decade ago to clean up the city's then-abandoned train station.
"I don't know of anybody organizing homeless people to do a street cleanup other than the Salvation Army effort," said George Bradley, Lodi's streets superintendent.
Source: Virginia Snyder, clean-up organizer
Bradley said the city has struggled to keep its alleys clean, noting the small roads often become dumping grounds because they're "out of sight, out of mind."
Community cleanups provide an immense help, he said.
City street sweepers clean the alleys once a month. Residential and Downtown streets are cleaned more often, he said.
Through her outreach group, A Hand Up, Not a Hand Out, Snyder has enlisted help from government and church leaders. Her aim has been to work with homeless residents to help them help themselves.
One homeless resident, in fact, learned of a job opportunity while at the morning cleanup, she said.
Snyder said she sees potential in the homeless residents she meets. They're the ones, however, that must work to change their lives, she said.
"Since we began, we've told (homeless) people, if you want to be respected, clean up your act," she added.
Snyder plans another cleanup next month.
To learn more about A Hand Up, Not a Hand Out, contact Virginia Snyder at 367-1037.
Contact reporter Chris Nichols at chrisn@lodinews.com.
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OTH wrote on Jun 10, 2008 2:22 PM:
papercut wrote on Jun 10, 2008 10:07 AM:
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