Over the last six months, more than 250 homeless people have pitched tents near the Ontario airport, creating a burgeoning shantytown that sprawls across vacant lots and spills into side streets.
They call it Tent City, and for many it's a welcome refuge from the cars, bridges and offramps they usually inhabit.
"This place is the best thing they could do for us," said Teresa Pacheco, 48, of Upland. "It's got food, water and there is an outhouse."
For others, it's a nightmare.
"I hate it here. I want a house. I want a life," said a tearful Teresa Dodson, 54. "I've never been in this position before in my entire life."
Pregnant women, parolees, alcoholics, the mentally ill, people fallen on hard times: They're all here, living on donated food and water. And rather than running them out, the city has invited them in.
Unlike many communities that hide or deny such problems, Ontario has put its homeless on public display.
The city makes sure trash is picked up. Police patrol the area. Portable toilets have been set up and clean water and showers are provided. Social workers try to place residents in shelters and get help for those with drug or alcohol problems.
"I have done this kind of work for 20 years and have never encountered a city that has made the investment that Ontario has," said Larry Haynes, executive director of Mercy House in Santa Ana, which is helping the homeless at the site. "We have unanimous support from the City Council and city staffers. This isn't Berkeley or Santa Monica. It's a moderately conservative area, not a bunch of wild-eyed liberals."
Ontario officials don't call the place Tent City or Camp Hope as some do. They prefer "rest area." They set it up on city property just west of LA/Ontario International Airport last June to lure the local homeless away from dangerous sites.
"They were living along the railroad tracks, along the 10 Freeway at the major intersections," said Brent Schultz, director of the city's office of housing and neighborhood revitalization. "We said, 'You don't have to go, but we have created a place where you can go.' It's not a permanent solution. We are trying to keep a lid on it, but we are not putting our head in the sand. We are reaching out to people."
Ontario is spending $3 million to deal with its homeless. As of 2007, that population numbered 331, the second highest in San Bernardino County, said Isaac Jackson, the county's homeless services coordinator. The city of San Bernardino ranks first with 1,397.
