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An illegal homeless camp in Columbia is being cleaned up after complaints from nearby businesses, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said on Sept. 15. Caitlin Ashworth/Staff

COLUMBIA — Among empty beer cans, used diapers and soiled clothing scattered across a wooded area in the outskirts of Columbia was a sign reading “Anything helps, God bless” written in black marker.

Used syringes and other narcotic paraphernalia was cleaned up before the press were invited to see what was left of an illegal homeless camp, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said.

“See what they spent their money on,” Lott said, pointing out the hundreds of beer cans dumped across the woods.

The sheriff says up to around 50 people, including small children and even babies, may have lived in the wooded area he called “a village” off Old Forest Road by Interstate 77 and the Columbia Fire Department.

After talking with the property owner and giving those at the encampment notice to leave, Lott arranged to bring a bulldozer in to clear the area.

Clifford Fisher, a deputy who also runs the Owens Fisher Construction Company, used heavy equipment at the site on Sept. 16 to knock over trees and destroy what was left of the camp.

“We reached this point because an issue with trespassing has turned into a public safety concern,” Lott said in an earlier statement. “The property is covered with used needles, narcotic paraphernalia and trash. The owner decided that measures needed to be taken to remove the trees and the trash so the visibility would deter the individuals from returning.”

Children weren’t found at the camp, but Lott said there was evidence they had been there.

There were used diapers as well as the seats and steering wheel to a plastic pink car. A child’s size white costume dress was on the ground along with other clothes that may have belonged to a little girl.

“It’s atrocious that a young child still in diapers is living in a place like this,” Lott said.

Those at encampments like the one on Old Forest Road are considered to be the “chronically homeless” who are not seeking services in shelter and only make up a small portion of the homeless population, according to Lila Anna Sauls who runs the nonprofit Homeless No More.

Encampments typically have unsanitary conditions, and Sauls supported the sheriff’s decision to bulldoze the property.

“You can't have children living that way,” Sauls said. “It’s not appropriate to have children living in tents where there are syringes on the ground.”

Crime linked to the camp

The Old Forest Drive is patrolled by the Columbia Police Department’s South Region. According to the department, those at nearby businesses have voiced concerns about stolen shopping carts, panhandling, trespassing, aggressive begging and pedestrians unlawfully in the roadway.

"We've seen a spike in crime associated with homeless camps, and that has really pushed us to do what we need to do," Lott said.

More than 100 shopping carts were stolen from a busy shopping complex across the street, which included a Walmart, according to Columbia police. The department then had several meetings with Walmart management.

Columbia police searched the wooded area and found dozens of shopping carts, many filled with personal belongings or debris. The carts were sterilized and then returned to the stores.

Officers offered an assistance program to those at the camp, but only a small number accepted, according to the Columbia Police Department.

While the camp on Old Forest Drive is now empty, Lott said he suspects many just found another camp nearby. He added that he’s in the works to clear out another encampment.

“This is not the only homeless camp in Richland County and the City of Columbia,” Lott said. “There are others.”

He said more homeless people are in the area, mentioning a man seen walking on the median by the highway exit. Others in the area are seen walking with shopping carts.

By the Walmart across the street, a Romanian woman with two young girls stood by the shopping complex’s main exit, holding a sign asking for money for her motel and gas to make it across the country. She said she was trying to get to California.

The sheriff said there aren’t many options for help in the outskirts of the city, but said those who want assistance could take a bus downtown where there are outreach organizations and homeless services.

The City of Columbia has been working on plans to tackle the ongoing problem of homelessness. Within the next two months, the city plans to turn its Inclement Weather Center into a “rapid shelter” to offer short-term housing for those in need.

By partnering with the company Pallet Shelter, the city will create a village of 50 single-occupancy homes for those transitioning to a more permanent living situation.

The city’s initiative is “step 1” for easing the homeless situation, Saul said, adding that there’s a need for services as well as outreach workers who go out to encampments to offer services.

Caitlin Ashworth is a crime reporter for The Post and Courier in Columbia. She spent several years in Thailand before moving to South Carolina.

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