Homeless camp on San Jose little league field

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) - On Thursday, homeless people living near the Tully Ball Fields in San Jose were given a 72-hour notice to move out. The City of San Jose has been receiving complaints of trash, drugs and human waste left behind.

Shane Hall is a coach for Rampage Baseball, a traveling team out of San Jose. He said when he found the field, he thought it was great and didn’t see any issues. However, a few practices in, he said he noticed big problems.

“We found syringes right over there, broken bottles everywhere,” said Hall. “There was a fight the first day, second practice we were here.”

Homeless encampments in the adjacent Coyote Creek drifted into the dugouts and next to the snack shack. He said the parking lot smells like urine. He said the conditions are so unsanitary the boys are confined to the field using a restroom at a nearby library.

“Their safety, their well-being, they are young, impressionable kids,” said Hall. “There's certain things I don't want them to be exposed to at this age.”

“It's disgusting, it's not right, the city needs to do better,” said Senter Monterey Neighborhood Association President Jonathan Fleming.

On Thursday, park rangers, accompanied with San Jose Police, gave out notices to the homeless people.

“The real issue that is going on is there's a very large homeless population in San Jose,” said Justin Long from the San Jose Parks and Recreation Department. “The city is working through the housing department, various initiatives, various departments to address.”

The eviction notices are little comfort for Fleming who said the homeless people are gone one day, back the next.

“There needs to be a real permanent change at these ball fields,” said Fleming. 

“Not everyone is bad, not everyone is out here doing drugs, not everyone is stealing,” said Amy Mullenix, who is homeless.

Mollenix has been homeless for a year. She said she doesn't have any other place to go. She's now looking at Hope Village, a legal encampment in San Jose, as a possible option.

The San Jose Parks and Recreation Department said they have stepped up patrols and increased maintenance at the fields, Outreach workers will also be at the fields to offer services when the 72 hours are up.