The ever-growing City of Los Banos has the most modern and impressive police headquarters in all of Merced County. The $27-million gem of a facility opened on G Street with great fanfare in 2023.
But there’s something else in the vicinity that’s new and unique to this region.
Just the length of a football field away, in what used to be an uncared for vacant lot, you’ll find a city-sanctioned encampment for people experiencing homelessness.
There are several rows of heavy-duty, all-weather tents — about 85 of them — housing some 90 people at the site. The people have access to water faucets, portable toilets and dumpsters. They can care for pets, and cook on grills, and there’s a sign post with a number of rules to follow. There are also security cameras that provide 24-hour surveillance.
Police patrols roll through at various times of the day, but there’s also outreach going on to prepare the inhabitants for a much bigger transition: The opportunity to have a better life in an upcoming permanent supportive housing project that’s being viewed as another feather in the city’s cap.
A Stepping Stone
Recently, The Times was led on a tour of the camp by Police Commander Justin Melden, who described the project as a fluid, temporary solution made possible with support from the city’s Code Enforcement and Public Works divisions.
“I’ll be the first to let you know that this has been an exercise in trying to increase some level of accountability, and providing an environment that’s a bit cleaner, safer, and near supportive services,” he said. “Before this, it was just a big, disorganized, living area.”
Last October, Los Banos passed a no-camping ordinance like many cities across the state have done as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2024. In recent years, 2022-24, the city experienced 50 percent increases in the number of unsheltered persons, as recorded in annual “point-in-time” homeless counts. While the unsheltered number decreased in this year’s count held in January, there’s no doubt Los Banos has faced its share of challenging encampment situations and related public outcry over the years. A significant encampment behind the Home Depot, just south of State Route 33, was cleared out, and then another started to grow on a city-owned lot near the police station, and that too became “unmanageable.”
Eventually, Police Chief Ray Reyna was able to get support from the City Council and the city manager to take action earlier this summer in the form of a large cleanup and some dedicated resources.
“We brought in Public Works. We brought in the Fire Department. There were about 25 city staff members, many of them from the Police Department,” Melden recalled. “I think we removed 80 tons of debris. … We were able to get these canvas tents, and put them up, and people moved in that very same day.”
The city’s initial camp investment was estimated to be around $100,000, not including staff time. The temporary facility is meant only for the unhoused in town. Individuals who do not comply with the posted rules are provided notice and they have to leave the area.
“So far, I believe we’ve had to ask two or three people to leave,” Melden said. “Some people are really happy to be here, others are not. But there’s no obligation to be here. As Chief Reyna has mentioned several times, ‘It’s not a jail.’ People are free to come and go as they please.”
Melden adds, “There’s a lot of strong community support here as well. So we have several groups that come out here frequently and provide meals. A local church also has a mobile shower unit.”
One of the camp dwellers, 41-year-old Amy Anaya, told the Times that she feels safer at the site compared to other areas where she has pitched a tent, but she’s not happy with the asphalt pavement material the city put down underneath the tents. She says it gets really hot during the day, and her dogs suffer from being exposed to it. At the old camp behind Home Depot, she said, the dirt ground was better for the pets.
Anaya said she was born and raised in Los Banos, but has traveled around the county, and lived homeless in several areas, including along the railroad tracks of Merced.
“It was cutthroat in Merced,” she said. “They will take your shoes off while you’re sleeping. They don’t care. They will take your dog, and not give ’em back.”
She continued, “It’s better here as far as, you know, not being a nuisance in the community — or whatever people say that we are. This place is actually cleaning people up, maybe forcefully in a way, I’m willing to say that. Sometimes it needs to be done. Some people don’t know how to live in communities.”
During the encampment tour, the Times also ran into Samuel Reyes, the owner of an indoor flea market building located in the area. He said he had just found a storage bin that was stolen from his property in a truck that was parked on the road adjacent to the camp. The property owner mentioned he has experienced other break-ins and theft in recent months.
Commander Melden commented: “In my opinion, there is no perfect solution to managing this homeless crisis. This encampment is something that is working for the time being. I would say it’s a pretty reasonable, cost-effective approach to providing a supportive environment with the resources that we have.”
Despite encampment struggles, Anaya’s outlook remains positive. She said she was on a list for possible housing. She’s hopeful because she does have some Social Security income that would help her application.
“There are some ladies who come out here and sign people up for that sort of stuff. They help you with paperwork and appointments. I’m waiting today for someone to come, and help me fill out some intake information for a program they are talking about.”
Small but mighty
city housing division
The ladies Anaya was probably referring to are Christy McCammond, the manager of the city’s Housing Program, and Jennifer Loa, an outreach coordinator. Together they make up a city housing division that’s only been in existence since March of 2023.
Nevertheless, having a dedicated housing division has put Los Banos in a better position to attract much-need grant funding.
“One of our first tasks, on Day 1, was to find money, to build affordable housing, to build shelters, to help with the homelessness issue,” McCammond told the Times. “We first applied for encampment resolution funds from the state in 2023, and that first application was for emergency shelter, but it was not awarded. So we went back to the state, got post-denial feedback, and what we were told, in no uncertain terms, is that they really wanted permanent supportive housing applications. … So we applied again, and put together a really comprehensive plan [to be called “One Tree Village”], and in the meantime, we went out to market to identify affordable housing developers so that when we had opportunities, we’d have that qualified list ready to go.”
She added, “It was a really strong application, extremely detailed, and a big part of the award was that our jurisdiction was ready in terms of procurement, in terms of infrastructure. … They knew we were serious and we could handle it. We stayed extremely connected. We logged in to every webinar. We kept putting Los Banos in their ear.”
The effort paid off, big time.
In April of 2024, Los Banos was awarded an $11.8 million grant from the state’s Encampment Resolution Fund to transition unhoused people living in encampments into permanent housing. And, of course, the city had its “One Tree” project in place — basically a plan for 50, one-bedroom units of permanent housing on four acres of city property along Gilbert Gonzales Jr. Drive. The location is near a mobile home park, an apartment complex, and interestingly, not far from the aforementioned homeless camp behind Home Depot.
Later in July, the city garnered another win in the form of a $2.5 million grant from the Central California Alliance for Health. That money helped expand the project by adding two-bedroom and three-bedroom units. (The total number of units planned today is 58.)
In February, the City Council approved an agreement with the project developer, Anabasis LLC, who was awarded the contract through a competitive bid process.
The ERF dollars are also expected to fund operating costs related to the project for a period up to three years, and fund staff services provided onsite to residents including connections to health care, substance use treatment, employment, income benefits, and case management.
A ground-breaking ceremony for One Tree Village is expected to take place in a few weeks. Completion of the project is about a year away.
Loa, the city’s outreach coordinator, said she is working with potential residents through case management work to prepare them for a transition from experiencing homelessness to life in a permanent home where they will pay rent through employment and government benefits. Another outreach coordinator is expected to join the housing effort soon. They are working directly with most of the people living at the city-sanctioned encampment.
Loa and McCammond are also meeting with the officials from the Public Housing Authority to apply for project based Section 8 vouchers to support the One Tree project. They consider vouchers pivotal for success.
Meanwhile, the housing duo gets an A+ grade from Renee Davenport, a Merced-based property manager and homeless activist who has helped place many Section 8 recipients into homes over the years.
“Other jurisdictions say they are following up on their people, but Christy and Jennifer really support the case management. I’ve seen nothing but success from them. They have done an amazing job of actually doing the work that needs to be done, and not just paper pushing. Case management is the most important part of this whole thing to house homeless people. If you don’t have that, you’re not going to succeed, and your clients are not going to succeed.”
Editor’s note: For this story, the Times also interviewed city and county leaders in Merced about their views on the Los Banos effort to help the homeless, and their own local strategies. Also, at least two local activists chimed in on the subject. Stay tuned for more as the story continues …