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Editor’s note: The headline of this story was edited on April 4 after we received a note from John Frusetta, Hollister High School’s CBO. He said that the High School District will not be taking part in or directly supporting the homeless encampment clearing. “The District is willing to participate in any collaborative work between agencies to address our community’s homeless families,” he said.
San Benito County is moving forward with plans to clear homeless encampments along the San Benito River in the third week of April. The effort will involve the cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista, following an agreement reached on April 2. The San Benito High School District will also participate in future collaborative work between the agencies.
San Benito County Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez has said that it is crucial that the county and Hollister work together, since the riverbanks fall under both jurisdictions. According to Velazquez, Hollister is responsible for the stretch from south of the Fourth Street bridge to Apricot Lane, while the county oversees the areas north and south of that section.
“If we start doing cleanups on one side, there’s a tendency to just move the encampments south or north in the past,” he said. To avoid this, he said, the sweeping of the camps has to be a joint effort.
There is no precise count of the people living along the San Benito River. San Benito County Sheriff Eric Taylor has said there are between 100 and 160 camps on the banks.
In an unofficial “point-in-time” count on Nov. 19, 2024, deputies from the Sheriff’s Office found 38 people and 21 dogs and cats in the camps between Fourth Street and Hospital Road, but noted in their report that the number of people living there was likely “significantly higher than what was counted.”
Hollister Mayor Roxanne Stephens said she frequents the camps and speaks with residents. Most, she said, are middle-aged and young men, along with some women, and “occasionally” children. She also said it was essential to include San Juan Bautista in the conversation.
“What is it that we want to do? We want to clean this up, and then what do we want to do? This is my concern for San Juan Bautista,” Stephens said. “If we get our act together over there and we get it all cleaned up, guess where they’re going to come? So we want to make sure that does not happen. If we don’t act together, that’s exactly what will happen. It’ll just be musical chairs.”
San Juan Bautista Mayor Leslie Jordan echoed the need for coordination among jurisdictions, and suggested that the San Benito High School District should be included, as there is an encampment adjacent to the school.
Homeless students
John Frusetta, the high school district’s chief business officer, said during public comments that the district has 147 students experiencing homelessness, although it’s unclear if any are living in the camps along the river. The California Department of Education considers a child or teenager homeless if they “lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.” That includes those living in cars, shelters, public spaces, hotels, or couch surfing with other families because they lost their homes.
“Homelessness is a wide gamut, and somebody doesn’t just start down at the river; it grows over time,” Frusetta said. “San Benito High School District is happy to participate in any way we can because of the large number of homeless teens we serve.”
San Benito County interim County Administrative Officer Henie Ring and Hollister City Manager David Mirrione said the county and the city are partnering for the clearing. They confirmed as well that San Juan Bautista and the high school district will be included in future discussions starting April 3.
The representatives from the three jurisdictions agreed to meet in May to receive a report on how the clearing had gone, the jurisdictional boundaries along the river and the legal framework around encampment clearing—particularly in light of recent legal changes.
In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Martin v. Boise, a 2009 ruling that prevented cities and counties from punishing and displacing people sleeping on public property without providing adequate alternatives. A month later, Gov. Gavin Newsom authorized the clearing of homeless encampments in California.
Stephens also suggested discussing the overall goals of clearing the riverbanks. She urged the county and its cities to work toward a long-term strategy—beyond taking down tents, trailers, and self-built shelters—that includes housing, education and economic opportunities.
“Focusing on the encampment is a good place to start, but in general, we want to keep in mind that there is a broader issue,” Stephens said. “People that live in the river didn’t just start there. It was probably a process that maybe started when they were one of our high school students. We just want to have a general understanding of how we can prevent that, how we can support our residents so that we don’t have as big a homeless situation in the future as we have now.”
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