• Wildomar Conversations: 4 Keith Johnson

Meet Keith Johnson. 

Keith Johnson at his place of employment, The Anchor.

He went into the Army at age 19. He spent fourteen years in the California Army National Guard with a rank of Sgt E5. He was discharged in 2016 and then opted to pursue a musical career in a band in the Lake Elsinore area. 

Things didn't work out as he'd planned, and within six months of that move he found himself homeless. He'd lost his place to live, his car, his family photos and records... he was on the streets of Lake Elsinore.

In 2018 he attempted a 90 day course of rehab, but only made it about 55 days before he headed back out to the street. It was about a year later that he first encountered SWAG. That occured at the lake bottom in Lake Elsinore. 

Three different looks of Keith; then, then and now.

It was around that time that local law enforcement changed their approach to homelessness and started arresting people for warrants, paraphernalia, trespassing, and other things that go unchecked in places like Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Keith was arrested for trespassing multiple times and paraphernalia. Each time that happened SWAG was there to offer help. They knew who he was and had taken his information multiple times. Eventually, after six years of being homeless, he walked to The Anchor seeking help on his own. 

Click to read more about The Anchor

Keith has now had a year away from the streets 

He has goals and desires. He was able to reach this level by saying "yes" to help. Something he wasn't ready for earlier, but with persistence from the community partners of SWAG, RSO and code enforcement, he took that big first step and is well on his way to being an asset to the community. 

Please take a look at the interview with Wildomar Councilwoman Bridgette Moore to get a more complete picture. Note: the original video ran more than 20 minutes. I pared it down to a little over 10 minutes. 

I know that Keith credits Gloria Strippling and Ashlee Dephillippo for their help, but also the entire "SWAG tribe" as he referred them, in his success.

Though homeless individuals need food along with things like clean socks, clothes and even fresh shoes fairly regularly, it's counterproductive to hand them cash. Cash generally is used for one thing: Drugs or alcohol. 

If you're so moved as to want to donate money, seriously consider what it's going to be used for and seek out a trusted local organization, such as SWAG, to give the money to instead. This is where the well worn phrase comes into play, give a hand up, not a hand out.

What homeless people, or addicts, need the most is to know that there are people that sincerely care and CAN help. Not just clothes and food.

— Keith Johnson

Joseph Morabito and Keith Johnson.
Even with my super foofy hair, I'm still much shorter than Keith.

Below is a video regarding The Anchor. 

As an aside, "Say Yes" is a recently proposed campaign in the quest to assist chronic homeless people in getting off the streets put forth by Lake Elsinore City Councilwoman Natasha Johnson. 

• City Council Meeting November 2021

The longest day in Wildomar City Council history... or at least I'm using this as the new benchmark. It started at 3pm and didn't let out until Nearly 8pm. 

Ok, in there was a recess of about an hour, but never the less, it was a marathon in terms of being there. (Oh Joseph, stop whining)

At 3pm there was a workshop dealing with the widening of Palomar from Wildomar Trail to the cemetery and around the corner, east on Gruwell St. 

I suggest that you watch the video below if you'd like to hear the details. Come on, you can spend the 15 minutes watching the video and getting all the details yourself, or you can spend hours going down the various social media rabbit holes and end up with tons of misinformation instead. 

I've always loved drawing these silly cartoons, but I'm really the only safe target to lampoon anymore. 😁 

This should be coming to Wildomar in not all that long a period of time since the funds are needed to be used within a narrow window before they're no longer available.

Very exciting look that will be stretching from the corner of Palomar and Wildomar Trail north to Gruwell and along the cemetery.

The second part of the workshop dealt with DIF Fees (Developer Impact Fees). 

In short, when new development comes in there are fees that are paid. 

Ideas behind the fee increase proposal.

Though the fees are enormous in my estimation... welcome to California. They are a fact of life, and a reason why our housing costs are so much larger than in the middle of the country. 

The various items that DIF covers.

Presently the fees were last adjusted in 2015. The workshop was to get this ball rolling. There is recent legislation that will make it rather cumbersome to have such fees keep up with inflation if the process isn't started before the first of the year.

Details will be finalized at subsequent meetings after much wrangling I'm sure. 

I apologize if this isn't very legible. The limitations of copy and past from a video and then someone reviewing it on a smartphone. 

Below is a link to the workshop portion of the meeting.

Key pieces of business in the regular meeting included the second of four discussions of redrawing the city council district maps. 

There were no sample maps for this public hearing. 

I'll give you three guesses as to why, and they should all begin with the ripple effect of Covid and how it interrupted everything last year, including the census.

There will be sample maps at the December city council meeting. There will also be opportunities for you to draw a map yourself and submit it before the December meeting... and even for those that insist on procrastinating, ways to submit maps after the (suggested) deadline.

The link to the map tool isn't active yet. If this is something that you'd like to participate in, be sure to sign up for city emails.

The deadline to adopt new maps is April 17, 2022. I heard mention that we have all sorts of time and that we shouldn't have had the second public hearing without sample maps. 

That may be the MO of some people, but understanding the process and what goes into it, there was no reason to push this off and then (potentially) run out of time when some unforeseen occurrence were to visit us.

Other highlights of the meeting including the SWAG permanent housing improvements. 

This is a key to keeping a lid on homeless issues in the city of Wildomar. Without beds available, and no trespassing letters on file, the law does not allow to the approaches of the past to be used in the present. 

I had a chance to tour the facility and things look good there. There were two sums listed in the agenda for this. $217,600 for "to provide permanent supportive housing (PSH) services for six (6) chronically homeless individuals in the City of Wildomar for the fiscal year 2021-22"

The other sum was one-time $262,700 of the ARPA funds to be budgeted for the conversion of the garage at the property into a livable Accessory Dwelling Unit.

In non ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act of 2021) times this could have been a tense/contentious item to deal with. However, this is ARPA time and those moneys have a lot of strings attached to them. I find that this is a very acceptable way to use part of them.

Future City Hall

This is one of those topics that I am very interested in, but can imagine that most residents are somewhat less concerned about. 

Since the city's inception we have been renters of our city hall facilities. That was fine in the beginning as we were learning to crawl, but now it's time for us to walk on our own.

Though it would be great to be in what was referred to as a "class A building", that is still years into the future. However, a good temporary solution was shared at the meeting that will take us off the rental rolls and start building up city assets that will benefit residents for years to come. 

This is still in the concept phase, but one real option is to put a building up at the (yet to be named) park near Ronald Reagan Elementary.

Many details need to be worked out, and if this site can't be used, the city has another possible location at the undeveloped park near David A Brown Middle School that this could work at. 

From there, the city could be looking for a forever home, waiting for more favorable land prices (this market is crazy to be purchasing in) without the pressures of needing to renew a leasing agreement in the interim. 

The longer we wait to push forward with a new city hall, the longer we are renters making the building owners rich while not building assets for the residents of the city. This is a great move and I look forward to hearing more information as it becomes available. 

Concept of what the building could look like.

In the future, most likely after the current council is long gone, the "temporary" city hall could become a community center at the park.

Holiday Lights Contest

The Mayor and his family will be doing the judging, and I encourage as many families to participate as we can muster.

Make him put a lot of miles on his car as they tour the city looking at Christmas displays. 😃

From the agenda: 

The Holiday Lights Contest is an annual event that recognizes the efforts of the community who have decorated their homes with consideration to the holidays. 

The contest will be judged based on two categories: “Traditional” and “Clark Griswold”. 

Within each category, entries will be judged on such criteria as: 

•First Impression 

•Design 

•Originality 

•Suitability to Site 

•Environmental Elements (environmental elements including recycling, energy conservation, etc.)

The city will provide an online application for easy entry to the contest. 

Entries will be accepted from Monday, November 15th through Thursday, December 9th at 5:00 p.m. 

Judging will take place from Friday December 10, 2021, through Sunday December 12, 2021, from 6:00 - 9:00 pm. Recognition and awarding of the contest will be announced on the City’s Social Media outlets and a presentation with the contest results will be held on the following scheduled City Council meeting on December 15, 2021.

• Minor Rant (Bad Pun Intended)

It can be dismaying to see vandalism in any form, and additionally upsetting when it's more broadly aimed at the community as a whole. (Even if that's not what the perp was considering at the time)

At least one book that was destroyed near Windsong park. This photo was contributed by a local resident, and I was told that the image doesn't adequately portray the extent of the debris field.

Yesterday I was near Windsong park and saw several children's books that had been removed from the Free Little Library and thrown to the ground on the sidewalk down the street.

These two books weren't torn up, just thrown on the sidewalk near Gierson and Prairie. I rehomed them to the Free Little Library at DeJong's about half an hour after I picked them up. 

Who probably did this? 

Well, your guess is as good as mine, but if this was an office betting pool, I'd be laying my wager on a middle schooler (or someone a couple of years older that still has the cognitive acumen of a middle schooler), also one that doesn't get proper supervision at home.

Disrespect doesn't have to be taught, but it can flourish where proper parenting is lacking.

It's not necessarily an omen that this person will turn out bad (100% likely that it's a local teenage boy) because many responsible adults had periods of time of being a nuisance too. 

Everything has to be spelled out for some kids (I was one of those).

Back in the day I was in the category of being a thoughtless teenager too. 

My apologies to Pony League Baseball in Fontana, where in 1979 I removed all the light bulbs from the scoreboard... because, well, it was there and didn't have a screen to keep such numbskulls at bay.

Raising a child is a full time job, and even those doing their best can run into problems. Then add being a single parent into the mix, with three boys (Hi Mom), and the odds go up that the kids will get a little out of hand now and then.

Is this blog getting a bit preachy? 

Probably, but the rest of the community suffers when parenting is lacking... and I don't apologize for calling it out when it's as evident as this.

In a world where we hear accounts that parents of bullies are often found defending the indefensible, there is little that the rest of us can do without running the risk of being shouted down on social media for even bringing it up. Much less actually bringing such things to their attention, face to face. 

Yeah, no thanks. Though I'd rather you corral your little reprobate, far be it from me to put my nose on your bucket list of things to punch.

The days of Leave It To Beaver and Father Knows Best are long gone, where local kids respected their neighbors as much —or more— than their own parents. These days it's hard to even get eye contact and a "hello" out of kids. Obviously not ALL kids, but the majority to be sure. 

Oh well, we'll survive even if you allow your progeny to raise themselves... but will they? (Better keep SWAG's number handy, you'll probably be needing it the next 10 to 15 years)

To the good parents out there (which are most) I salute you for the work/time/effort you put into your kids... to the the ones that didn't fit into that category... thanks for nothing.

I will be interested in seeing if anyone will bother refuting some of my general points above. Being an apologist for antisocial behavior seems like such a waste of time... but is easier than doing the actual work necessary to produce well rounded community members. 

•                •                •

A series of minor incidents, mounting to a minor climax; the process of life. And yet, which one of us knows, or can suspect, how the smallest of happenstance may shape the pattern of our fate?

– EG Marshall (CBSRMT)

Wildomar Rap is most definitely the product of years' worth of minor incidents that serendipitously culminated into this digitized frenzy that you're looking at now. 

This blog was produced for viewing on a desktop or a laptop. Though it's been optimized for smartphones, the formatting can look odd on a smartphone or if you get this delivered through email (such as missing video links). Link to proper format.

• PIT Count 2020

Here's a brief recap of the 2020 PIT Count. 

If you're asking what a "PIT Count" is, it's a Point In Time count of the homeless. The mandate was to stop counting by 9:30am, we started in the field at about 6:30am after a 5:30am meeting at the Lake Elsinore Cultural Center.

This will be a photo driven blog, with more than three dozen photos, but I'll tell you upfront that we only counted four people. There were three interviews and one sighting as we were driving. Other than that, we mostly encountered empty tents or other makeshift abodes.

At the morning briefing at Lake Elsinore's Cultural Center.
Photo originally on SWAG's Facebook page.

As the sun was coming up just east of Inland Valley Drive. 

This was our second stop. We had started out behind the USA gas station and interviewed two men. As it turned out, we only found one other person "at home" for the interview. This location was east of Inland Valley and north of Kaiser.

This was one of the more eyeopening parts of the day. This is the entrance to a tunnel that goes from the north side of Clinton Keith and east of Iodine Springs, under Clinton Keith and let's out a bit northeast of City Hall.

The first part of the tunnel/pipe was corrugated metal.

This shot was better illuminated with my flashlight.

The midway part of the structure was the living quarters, but again, no one was there. You can see at the right side of the photo an area that was about eight to ten feet lower than the main path. That is where a mattress and other garbage was located. 

Surprisingly, it didn't reek. Also, the temperature was rather nice compared to the outside temps.

Creature comforts, and looks like someone had done a Trader Joe's run too.

The inner artist will out.

This wheelchair was located near the end of the tunnel.

I guess it was good that no one was home here. 

Anyone missing a mountain bike?

We parked near The Habit and then trekked about a quarter of mile along the freeway, heading south, to the next spot

This was our third and final interview of the morning.

If you're missing part of your baseball card collection from 1981, I think I found about a dozen cards. Sorry to report that your triples of Al Oliver are no longer in mint condition.

You can see City Hall on the horizon of this photo as we headed for the tunnel that goes under the freeway.

Easy access to the tunnel as the fence has been gently peeled away.

In we go.

Most of us bumped our heads more than once through this, at most the ceiling was five feet high. It was a workout to walk hunched over, and it got a little claustrophobic too.

We emerged on the eastside of the freeway, just under the drive thru line at Starbucks. That was a major work out for our glutes. I have a feeling that there will be some lingering soreness this evening.

We came across this marker as we walked towards the back of McDonald's. Back in 2015 a dead body had been discovered in this area.

There was a surprisingly large amount of room among the oak trees that most of us never do more than drive by as we enter the Albertsons shopping center.

A full sized couch was at the bottom of this area. At first we weren't sure if someone was asleep there or not.

The area would make for a nice parklike setting with the right kind of attention.

One of many things discarded down there.

It was sad how much garbage there was down there.

Most of the group chose not to go into this narrow pipe. It went under the driveway that acts as the primary ingress/egress to Albertsons.

We parked on Stable Lanes Road and trudged up the hill. Again, most of us just drive by this area, and we end up missing out on how large this area is. 

One thing you can say about this camp that can't be said about any of the others... at least this is "clean". Look at all the filled trash bags. This is probably less than 50 yards from Clinton Keith.

Scattered bedding about 25 yards to the east of the white tent above.

You can see some terracing into the hillside here. I was told that last year there was a tent and what amounted to as a porch/veranda there.

A rarely seen view of the Clinton Keith/Hidden Springs intersection.

More terracing and other indications of human activity.

A tent and a baby stroller about 100 yards north of Clinton Keith. 

At our last stop, we had to traverse a makeshift bridge over a boggy mire.

Again, no one was home, though it was obvious that this was not an old and abandoned camp.

Was this a decoration or was it for a child? We couldn't determine one way or the other.

A little touch of home.

Final thoughts
It seems that the homeless population has chosen to avoid the PIT Count. Whoever the powers that be are on the state and county level should consider shaking this yearly event up. At this rate, it's turning into a perfunctory measure... checking a box, but not really accomplishing anything. 

Just based on the camps that we visited, my guess is that there have to be at least a dozen regulars, if not two dozen.

The three that we did meet up with were happy to participate, and in exchange they were given a drawstring backpack with toiletries and also a McDonald's breakfast sandwich.

There are no real solutions in the pipeline for this problem. A problem that makes everyone's lives more difficult. Be it that of the community, of local businesses, of our first responders and more difficult for those going unsheltered too. The current approach adopted by the state is a lose-lose-lose-lose.

At this point, all we can do is continue playing whack a mole and hoping that they get tired of street life and finally accept help from SWAG.  

•                •                •

A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.
– H.L. Mencken

Wildomar Rap is a blog that, when it smells flowers, looks around for tacos.

This blog was produced for viewing on a desktop or a laptop. Though it's been optimized for smartphones, the formatting can look odd on a smartphone or if you get this delivered through email (such as missing video links). Link to proper format.