Through a cross-hatching of pencil-thin shadows cast by winter trees, the aerial photos reveal large piles of trash, tents and tarps.
The images, which were captured by the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office drone team last month, show several homeless camps that have been the subject of complaints from property owners throughout the county.
How to address those camps and their inhabitants was the subject of a Feb. 13 meeting held by SCSO’s Homeless Outreach Response Team (HORT) and attended by representatives from organizations that provide services to the unhoused throughout the Fredericksburg region.
At least two members of the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors, Lee Hill District Supervisor Lori Hayes and Battlefield District Supervisor Chris Yakabouski, also attended the meeting, which was held at the county’s public safety building.
“I really appreciated that the county was working to bring so many perspectives to the table,” said Amy Jindra, community support services director for the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board (RACSB). “They definitely did try to represent all of the different views of the situation.”
A PowerPoint presentation shown at the meeting and later provided to the Free Press by the SCSO outlined at least eight locations where the unhoused have been observed camping on private property. An estimated 18 people live in the encampments, which are concentrated around the State Route 3 area near Interstate 95, U.S. Route 1 and along State Routes 2 and 17.
“The sheriff’s department is doing what they’re charged to do and that is to enforce the law,” Hayes said. “The encampments that were discussed are on private property. From my understanding, it’s really a joint effort with these services that are in the community, and that’s why they had all the stakeholders at the table to discuss the plan of trying to link services to those in need and enforcing the law.”
The presentation also included “victim/property owner/witness statements” from property owners.
According to testimony provided, an employee of a local business said they’ve arrived at work to observe naked individuals “seemingly under the influence” outside, making the business feel unsafe for employees. Another property owner stated that they’ve spent “thousands in electrical repairs due to trespassers stealing electricity through our exterior connections.”
An aerial image captured by the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office drone team shows one of several homeless encampments on private property in the county. (Slide from HORT presentation)
“When you have an encampment and somebody is illegally on your property, it is incumbent upon the sheriff’s department to enforce that,” Hayes said. “This is something that has been an issue for some landowners … It’s not going in there and kicking people off land. It’s linking them to services.”
Sheriff’s Office Lt. Katherine Matikonis said law enforcement officials are trying to strike a balance between aiding the unhoused and protecting businesses and community members. She called homelessness a “complex issue” with many variables.
“We are so very hopeful that we are able to help the majority of the homeless population in Spotsylvania County and get them the resources and supports they need by introducing them to the right groups to help them, while also meeting the goals of upholding the law and protecting our citizens who are being victimized by those who trespass on their property,” Matikonis said.
The presentation included a timeline. It noted that representatives from the Sheriff’s Office attended the Jan. 27 meeting of the George Washington Regional Commission, where a homeless outreach position was discussed. If approved, the position would rotate among Spotsylvania, Stafford, King George and Caroline counties, serving as a point of contact for the unhoused population in those localities.
According to the timeline, from Monday to Tuesday, HORT will “notify the homeless population” that they must vacate the camps. That step follows the Sheriff’s Office obtaining permission from property owners to enforce trespassing on their property.
The presentation lists the Community Connections Expo on March 18 as an opportunity for notified individuals to get linked with housing and other services. While looping in service providers was a welcomed gesture, said Jindra, organizations like hers are hard-pressed to keep up as is.
“The challenge we have is just limited resources,” she said. “We might make connections to people living on the streets, but then to find housing and connect those people to housing, it takes months or longer.”
But the unhoused in Spotsylvania don’t have that long. The timeline lists April 2 to 4 for “Operation Clean Up,” when HORT will return to the camps and enforce applicable laws, including trespassing.
In Virginia, trespassing after being asked to leave is a class 1 misdemeanor, punishable with up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. Other potential violations noted in the Sheriff’s Office presentation include public intoxication, obtaining or attempting to obtain electricity and water without payment, possession of a controlled substance, and dumping trash.
“It absolutely takes all of us to address this larger issue and get the knowledge out and the supports in to help the homeless people so they have choices before the April date of promise to our citizens,” Matikonis said.
Hayes said she is hopeful the homeless population will take advantage of the resources presented to them before their deadline to vacate.
But Jindra said forcing people to leave a location where providers may have already encountered them essentially “restarts the game” of connecting them to the services. It could also make members of the unhoused population warier of those who might approach in the future wanting to help.
“I think people will go to the next vacant spot they can find,” she said. “They’ll go deeper woods, less visible, more discrete.”
Some, Jinda speculated, will go to other areas in Spotsylvania, while others might end up in downtown Fredericksburg.
“If they know they’re going to move,” she said, “they’ll just keep moving.”
