ESCONDIDO, Calif. — People in Escondido reached out to CBS 8 with safety concerns about encampments along Escondido Creek in an area known as “the jungle.”
CBS 8 has reached out to city leaders And residents in the neighborhood to see what's happening and what's being done to address the issue.
We also talked to people experiencing homelessness as they start the path to hopefully ending the cycle.
Laura lives in what most folks around Escondido call “the jungle.”
“It's like a sanctuary for me. No one steals my things and I have friends nearby plus, I'm not getting harassed like I was in town. It wasn't that bad until everyone started moving out here. At first, there weren't that many of us here."
Laura says, she just got out of the hospital and is afraid of what’s to come when the City of Escondido performs a sweep next week.
Brittany Williams lives nearby with her young, growing family including two and four year old children.
"I've seen a lot of people camping out. They use this trail to go back to their homes. It's so sad. I feel sorry for these people. It breaks my heart that they're now living on the streets. I feel nervous knowing that I don't live in a safe community anymore."
"My husband and I noticed that the homeless population has been really increasing. We just have people everywhere, mainly coming up to our homes, going into our mailboxes, stealing Christmas things."
Brittany and another neighbor reached out to CBS 8 asking for help with getting answers about Escondido’s growing housing crisis and unhoused population.
CBS 8 is Working for You on this story. We called the City of Escondido to find out what they’re doing to help.
We also went to the jungle again and found a group of volunteers and police officers touring the area before the city enforces it’s camping ban on Monday, sweeping the area of the growing unhoused village that’s deep inside the jungle.
Travis is also experiencing homelessness and living in “the jungle.”
"At the end of the day, there's really no permanent spot. There's really no help for the homeless. It sucks. It's not that we're choosing to be homeless. Some do, some don't. The ones that don't struggle with the fact that every day the economy goes up and the cost of living goes up. It's harder to catch up to."
George Weir is with Love Esco, a group of volunteers who aim to spread love and kindness throughout Escondido. Weir says they are looking to bridge the gap in Escondido’s housing crisis by providing resources and services to those experiencing homelessness.
Weir says, Love Esco is here to help.
"It really brings it down to the ground level. We need to help these people. We need to prioritize these folks. These are our friends and neighbors, people we grew up with, went to college with, went to grade school with. They just had a different experience. We need to reach out and take care of them. We will. We'll reach a handout and take care of these folks."
Laura says she’s thankful.
"It sucks being out here. Yeah, we're all a community and they come and help us out, but it sucks being out here. Some of us didn't make that choice to be out here."
Camping in public areas of Escondido is illegal, and the City will enforce that ordinance with a sweep starting Monday, December 16th.
Love Esco is asking for volunteers to help clean up the jungle next week after the city of Escondido's public works department finishes that sweep.
They'll need volunteers to come ready to clean up trash, debris and whatever else will be left behind that city crews don't get to pick up. Click here for more information.
We reached out to the City of Escondido today and we're still waiting to hear back.
At CBS 8, we are always Working for You and our community. This is a station promise that we will go the extra mile to solve a problem our audience can’t solve themselves. We want to hear your ideas on how we can cover and help our community. If you have a story idea, please email us at workingforyou@cbs8.com.