I want to add another story. At my orchard farm, there was a homeless lady who’d come by to use the packing shed. She was an older person and had a dog with her at all times. She was clearly mentally unstable. She used the shed to hold meetings with her imaginary friends. After I pull in, I have to wait while she opens the swing door and tells each one of her imaginary friends at the meeting..’thank you. Please come again’. Like 5-7 times. Then she’d give me a withering look and leave with her dog.
I played along because I knew she was harmless. Then one day the dog disappeared and my general rule at the farm was not to leave any tools outside unlocked. Someone must have left a shears outside one evening. When I came back, she had gone on a rampage at the lavender field and shredded the greenhouse plastic. I don’t know if she was ill or she had lost her meds.
I had to call the cops and I had to check with insurance. I did not want her in jail. I only wanted her to get her meds.
But the cops(they were remarkably kind and they were already frazzled by this kind of issue in a semi rural area) said their hands are tied. They literally can’t help her or get her meds or even find out if she has any next of kin without arresting her. Because of fourth amendment and privacy issues. If booked, she could get fingerprinted. And then they can find out if she is a missing person or if she has any prior history etc.
This was difficult for me. I agreed that the next time I will file a complaint because I didn’t want her to be in the system and on police records. But she never came back. We’d never know what happened to her. She disappeared..just like that. Did I do the right thing? I don’t know! Did the cops have enough authority? I don’t know! There are homeless advocates.
Because I have a story for that too. There were a bunch of young homeless people who became squatters in my farm. They stole things. Used the place to sell drugs. Stole electricity. Destroyed my property and fencing multiple times. Again the cops couldn’t do anything. They had to go via the homeless advocates and non profits because cops are not allowed to deal with this issue. But are they drug dealers(and we are not talking marijuana here) or homeless people? Net net, I have to absorb the losses on a farm that was not making much anyways. Worse, they were cutting the trees by the creek, build bridges from the greenhouse lumber they cut, made make shift ‘apartments’ and cottages with plywood and tarp... and pooping in the creek and I would go every weekend and pick up poop, condoms, needles because I grow food. I can’t have stuff like this around. And the homeless advocates did nothing while they continued to trash my farm and made it their sales HQ.
And start ups. Don’t get me started. A billion dollar company that could have provided safe solutions to mentally ill and homeless population BACKED off from selling their product because they didn’t want to work with the police. Because it would affect future funding and the woke progressive climate in SV won’t look favourably on anyone who works with cops and law enforcement. The clowns had taken over the circus when the employees tender woke feelings matter more than delivering actual solutions to the needy. This is tragic. And I will not pay any more taxes to enable this lunacy that is The California Democratic Goat Rodeo.