COUNTY PLAN TO PROVIDE RAIN SHELTER.Byline: Deborah Sullivan Daily News Staff Writer Homeless people living amid reeds and brush in the Santa Clara River Santa Clara River may refer to:
``I think it's a wonderful idea,'' said Claudia Martinez, 39, adding a shelter program established during 1995 floods of the Ventura River The Ventura River is a river in Ventura County, California. The river forms at the confluence of Matilija Creek and North Fork Matilija Creek, 15 miles upstream from the Pacific Ocean. worked out ``very well.'' This year's effort - dubbed dub 1 tr.v. dubbed, dub·bing, dubs 1. To tap lightly on the shoulder by way of conferring knighthood. 2. To honor with a new title or description. 3. RAIN for River-dweller Aid and Intercity Network - is an attempt to head off the kind of devastation of 1995, when the county experienced the worst floods in two decades. That year, 200 homeless people were rescued from the roiling Ventura River, but not before one man was swept away and killed. This year, the county has allocated $225,000 to house, feed and offer social services social services Noun, pl welfare services provided by local authorities or a state agency for people with particular social needs social services npl → servicios mpl sociales to an estimated 100 river dwellers who will be displaced by the anticipated floods. In preparation for the expected El Nino storms, the county flood-control department plans to clear debris from the riverbed in coming weeks. Officers with the county Sheriff's Department and the Ventura and Oxnard police departments have posted eviction notices eviction notice n → orden f de desahucio or desalojo (LAM) eviction notice n → préavis m on the tents and shanties lining the riverbed, warning that staying there is both dangerous and illegal. They have issued two notices so far and plan to post a final one next week, said sheriff's Deputy Leslie Daily. People living in the river bottom have until Nov. 7 to vacate To annul, set aside, or render void; to surrender possession or occupancy. The term vacate has two common usages in the law. With respect to real property, to vacate the premises means to give up possession of the property and leave the area totally devoid of contents. their camps, although the shelter will open next Tuesday for those willing to leave early. While police can arrest those who remain, officers said they don't think they will have to. ``Generally, the folks down there have been very cooperative,'' said Ventura police Lt. Roger Nustad. ``They know the problem, they know the jeopardy they're in, and hopefully we can get them out as gently as possible.'' To ease that transition, various county and city agencies as well as local churches and nonprofit groups are collaborating to provide housing, meals, drug and alcohol counseling, mental health services health services Managed care The benefits covered under a health contract and job counseling at the former hospital site. Those who have jobs will get transportation to work, and those looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. employment can get assistance with their search and rides to job interviews. Martinez, who became homeless after suffering a workplace injury, said she welcomes a chance to get back on her feet. ``Once you get down here it is hard to get out,'' she said, puffing a cigarette outside her plywood home, hidden in a stand of 12-foot-high reeds. ``You don't have a phone or a shower.'' The shelter at the hospital site will even accommodate pets - a reassurance to Martinez and her boyfriend, who own five dogs. ``We love them and we don't want to put them to sleep,'' she said. However, Carol Mercado, who has lived in the riverbed for a month, said she feels the river dwellers can protect themselves against floods by shoring up Noun 1. shoring up - the act of propping up with shores propping up, shoring supporting, support - the act of bearing the weight of or strengthening; "he leaned against the wall for support" their encampments with tarps and sandbags sandbags small sacks containing sand used to support an anesthetized animal in dorsal recumbency and prevent it from rolling sideways during anesthesia or surgery. . She is wary of moving to a shelter that she fears will be rife with strict - and in her opinion, condescending - rules and regulations. Officials said they don't intend to force the hands of river dwellers, but seek to offer them a better alternative. |
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