Homeless behind Bungalow Alehouse in Woodbridge to be removed from property

More than 30 people who live in homeless camps on about 80 acres of property behind Bungalow Alehouse in Woodbridge will be forced to leave, according to Woodbridge Homeless Outreach.

Prince William County officials tell us that’s because the owner of the property posted “No Trespassing” signs, and now police will enforce the owners wishes.

From Prince Willaim County spokesman Jason Grant: 

As you may be aware, the owner of the 80 acres behind Bungalow Ale House in Woodbridge has decided to post the property with “No Trespassing” signs. This is the same property that was recently in the news because there were structures built on the property that are not to code.

We were made aware of the structures after an anonymous caller contacted Child Protective Services and reported that there were small children living in a structure in the homeless camp. DSS had no choice but to remove the children and the judge required proof that the structures were unsafe, which required code enforcement to examine the structures. A code violation notice was sent to the property owner.

Because the property owner has posted the property, the people living on her property will have to leave, and police will have to enforce the property rights of the owner, if she files a notice that there are people on her property in violation of her “No Trespassing” notices.

In the event you receive any calls, I wanted to pass along the same information that has been passed along to our homeless advocates and community partner groups who work with the homeless.

The Drop-in Center will be open to any individuals on the property who are seeking assistance. We will have staff available to register those requesting services, get the process started, and connect them with services. Information on homeless services (https://www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/socialservices/pages/homeless-and-winter-shelters.aspx) and providers through the Continuum of Care (https://www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/socialservices/pages/prince-william-continuum-of-care.aspx) can be found on the County Website. The resource guide will be updated continually.

Prince William police will go about removing the homeless in phases. Here’s an email dated Sept. 13, 2016, from Courtney S. Tierney, Prince William County community services director. 

There is not a specific date as the property owner understands people need time to make decisions. I did not know about the PD (police department) going to the site today and am getting clarification about this. I don’t know if I will get an answer tonight.

This is how I understand the process:

1. DSS Staff and PD will visit the camp to give people notice about leaving the property within 30 days;

2. Two weeks after that, PD and the Property Owner will visit the camp and issue citations to those remaining on the property noting that they need to leave within two weeks; and

3. Two weeks after that, PD will remove persons from the property.

In 2011, Virginia State Police were called to remove homeless from camps at the intersection of Interstate 95 and Dale Boulevard.

Added to this post 4 p.m. 

Woodbridge H.U.G.S. Director Terry Twomey says there are few places for the homeless to go once they’re displaced. 

While the individuals must move, the real question is, “move where?’ PWC suffers from a severe lack of affordable housing, and NOT just for the unsheltered in this article, but also for a majority of its residents including an increasing number of adult children who must live at home, and needy individuals, who while they have a roof overhead, must either choose between paying the rent or buying food.

So this is where the majority of evicted will go, not out of the county, but to another piece of vacant land, until the uproar dies down, and if and when the quiet lasts, eventually they may move back. Such was/is the case at the site of Kmart, now somewhat ironically replaced with an AT HOME store.

While it is certainly true that in part the unsheltered brought this on themselves that is like looking at a picture and only seeing 1 square inch of the artwork. One inch is not even the essence of the work. And so in many minds, this group is just lazy, or addicts. Interestingly, our Vets, were once included in this judgement until marketing pulled them out.

The County listed the Bill Mehr Drop–In Center as a resource for the evicted. This Center has been around since 2002. So here is another real question, “Why is the Winter Shelter (located within the Bill Mehr Drop-In center, a 47-bed, overnight shelter not being opened to handle the eviction and giving the folks somewhere else to go?”

Currently, Help Us Grow Strong (HUGS), provides a meal on Saturday’s (Manassas & Woodbridge) while working to provide shelter within a Tiny House community for the unsheltered following the Housing First model which will include wrap around services to help people be their best self. People do not belong on the ground. If one would like to learn more, please check out our page www.facebook.com/WoodbridgeHUGS