On the cloudy morning of December 12th after a heavy rain we met at Holm Road to do our monthly Pitch In Cleanup with Supervisor Hernandez’s office. Chief of Staff Ramon Gomez, City of Watsonville staff John Moreno-Ramirez, Josh Castillo, Oscar Hernandez, Miguel Sandoval, Ramiro Herrera, Carlos Ramirez, and Watsonville Police Officer Sergio Banuelos worked tirelessly to clean up an abandoned encampment beneath the acacia trees adjacent to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Over 20 yards of trash, tents, tarps, a bath tub, office furniture, pallets, and miscellaneous garbage was cleaned up. Trash from these abandoned encampments adversely affect our wildlife, and cost our communities significantly in terms of financial and human resources.