In recent years, homelessness in Marin County has grown into a visible and pressing issue, with one particular encampment continuing to expand along San Rafael’s Mahon Creek Path and Anderson Drive. On October 4, the City of San Rafael opened a designated camping area near Mahon Creek to address the growing issue of homelessness in the area. Prior to the area’s establishment, the city selected roughly 50 homeless people to inhabit the campsite, limiting numbers due to sparse resources.

Before the sanctioned camping program was established, the Mahon Creek encampment had grown to become San Rafael’s largest. Since the removal of the Albert Park encampment in March 2023, and the ban of camping along Lindaro Street due to it being a school route in December 2023, many homeless individuals, displaced by camping ordinances or other restrictions, settled near Mahon Creek.

Josh Dixon, a junior at Archie Williams High School and co-founder of JB’s Dump Runs, often passes the encampment area while working, as his business frequently takes him to the Marin Resource Recovery Center off Anderson Drive. His regular trips to the dump allow him to observe the encampment’s growth over time.

“I have a dump-run business, so I drive down Anderson Drive probably four to five times [per month]. I’ve also seen the encampment grow and move down Anderson Drive,” Josh said. “It’s really sad to see, and the growing homeless population is definitely having a negative impact on local businesses.”

On April 18, the California Interagency Council on Homelessness allocated 192 million dollars to 17 communities to address homelessness. The Marin County community received 18.2 million dollars through the Encampment Resolution Fund (ERF), a 750 million dollar program supporting local jurisdictions in ensuring the wellness and safety of individuals in encampments. On April 23, 2024, the City of San Rafael and Marin County also applied for a six million dollar grant to further assist unhoused individuals.

Marin County Director of Homelessness and Coordinated Care Gary Naja-Riese oversees the Marin Health and Human Services’ work in attempting to resolve local homelessness. Collaborating with several community-based organizations across the county, they work to progressively resolve the homelessness issue.

“This is the third round of grants that the California Interagency Council on Homelessness has given out specifically to help counties and cities reduce and resolve encampments specifically,” Naja-Riese said. “We’ve applied all three times, and we’ve gotten all the grants that we’ve applied for each time. That funding is for the homeless encampments identified by counties and cities.”

A portion of the ERF funding went toward creating the sanctioned camping area along the northern section of the Mahon Creek path, providing shelter for just under 50 people. The site includes 24/7 security, power, water, weather protection, and restrooms, offering immediate safety and essential services for individuals experiencing homelessness. San Rafael Assistant City Manager John Stefanski oversaw the development of the sanctioned camping area.

“The purpose of the sanctioned camping area is to provide individuals experiencing homelessness a safe place to live while they receive case management and other services provided by the county. County-funded caseworkers come out and work with individuals and help them work through whatever challenges or issues they may be having with finding housing. [The sanctioned camping program] is really a service-first program,” Stefanski said. 

Because San Rafael’s sanctioned camping area can host fewer than 50 individuals, many homeless individuals don’t have access. LaMont Hall, one of approximately 1,090 homeless individuals in Marin County, has been without stable housing for a year and has spent the past two months living at the Mahon Creek Encampment outside of the sanctioned area. Like many others still living in the Mahon Creek encampment, Hall applied for residence in the sanctioned camping area but the city denied him admittance. 

“I put my name on the waitlist, and when it came down to the wire, I was told that I didn’t qualify,” Hall said. “[I’ve heard] they have like 10 extra tents in there that are not currently being used. When I asked about it, they told me it was all filled up.” 

According to Hall, the city’s efforts to clear unsanctioned encampments have left many homeless individuals in a difficult cycle of displacement and insecurity. In early October, Hall and other homeless individuals residing on Anderson Drive were physically removed by the City of San Rafael.

“The police came and said, ‘You’ve got 10 minutes,’ at around six in the morning before they started bulldozing. They bulldozed all of our stuff and then dumped rocks on our [camping ground]. A lot of us out here have nowhere to go, so when the city destroys the only home we have it makes it very hard,” Hall said. 

After the encampment’s removal, the City of San Rafael placed large rocks along Anderson Drive and the Mahon Creek Path. Josh also witnessed the removal of Hall’s encampment and believes the rocks’ positioning prevent the encampment from re-establishing itself.

“I was doing a dump run in October, and saw a bunch of police and construction workers physically removing people from the encampment; they were bulldozing the tents. About a week later, the [homeless encampment] was back, but this time there were a bunch of big boulders and rocks to deter the tents,” Josh said. “I think [the rocks] were a good step to deter people from camping there, but more is going to need to be done to diminish the encampment.”

Stefanski claims the purpose of the border rocks are primarily to address safety concerns posed to the surrounding community, while deterring encroaching homeless structures.

“We did place those [rocks] up there, particularly along the portion from Rice [Drive] to Irwin [Street] along Anderson [Drive], but only because we had a number of individuals who were camping awfully close to the roadways, where it was becoming a public safety hazard,” Stefanski said. “Due to the proximity to the roadway, and also to make sure the people aren’t blocking the sidewalk, we did put those boulders out there.”

The growing homelessness crisis in Marin County, particularly in San Rafael, highlights the complex challenges faced by both local governments and those experiencing homelessness. While the opening of a sanctioned camping area at Mahon Creek provides a safe and supportive space for some individuals, the demand for housing and services continues to exceed available resources. Efforts including recent funding allocations and the establishment of sanctioned camps demonstrate progress in addressing the issue, but the ongoing challenges highlight the need for continued collaboration and innovative solutions.