VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – There are complaints about a homeless camp that has popped up in Virginia Beach on a vacant lot on Wesleyan Drive.
10 On Your Side got an email from someone, calling the camp a nuisance. Two members of Virginia Beach City Council are also looking into the issue.
There’s no doubt Virginia Beach has a homeless problem. An estimated 150 are unsheltered, and another 150 are sheltered.
There are three tents set up on Wesleyan Drive at Diamond Springs Road.
After 10 On Your Side got past the charging pitbull that was on a very long leash. The dog, named Bully, ran past us, but luckily did not bite.
“I’m homeless. I got moved out of the graveyard, and now I’m in this yard,” said the dog’s owner, James Teel, with slurred speech caused by a traumatic brain injury he suffered following a car crash with his then-girlfriend.
Teel set up camp on private property on Wesleyan Drive at Diamond Springs Road.
He claimed to have permission to be on the property, but then told us, “I have no clue who the landowner is. He didn’t give me permission, but he didn’t tell me not to be here either.”
Virginia Beach Police paid a visit to James Baker, who moved in a few days ago with his dog, BIGZ.
“The police officer was saying the owner was getting complaints about us being out here with the dogs,” Baker said. “So, the officer said he was going to talk to the owners to see if they can give us at least a week to relocate.”
A third tent popped up in the morning, the woman who lives there refusing to comment on her situation.
Teel has all of his world possession packed into the tent.
Baker showed 10 On Your Side around his tent.
“I have this blue blanket as an underlying so I can have something soft instead of hard on the ground and I can be comfortable,” Baker said, “so I won’t be cold at night.”
Both men have dogs. They’re family, but they’re also a curse to find housing for the homeless.
“There really isn’t anywhere I can go because I have my dog, and in shelters you can’t take a dog,” Baker said.
Another issue for Baker – he got a job, but had no way to get there.
“I had a job offer in Georgia working for a construction company at $24 an hour, six days a week. They would pay for my stay. The only thing is I got to get there, and I don’t have transportation.”
On Wednesday May 31, VBPD officers went to the property after both men were instructed to leave by 12 p.m.
Teel says since there is no trespassing sign on the property, he refused to leave since the owner has not ask him to. He also says the city has found a place for him to stay, however, he would have to get rid of his dog.
Baker is still working to find another place to live.
Virginia Beach City Council knows it has a homeless issue.
“That’s our goal,” said Councilwoman Sabrina Wooten. “If we are doing that, we need to address some of those barriers, and find a yearlong strategy to help folks in need.”
Councilman Michael Berlucci is concerned about complaints he’s heard.
Realizing the issues at hand, the Virginia Beach City Council will be briefed by staff June 13 about the homeless issue in Virginia Beach, and what needs to be done about it.
“As compassionate as we are, people expect us to hold up our commitment to keep our community safe, clean, and beautiful,” Berlucci said. “To the extent that we allow these encampments to continue, it is not (keeping our commitment.)”