THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 20, 1994 TAG: 9411180154
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
A task force of police and social service workers scoured a patch of 24th Street woods early last week and routed some 17 homeless people from tents that many had called home for years.
Monday's raid also resulted in the arrest of Michael W. Lingelbach, 36, who was charged with two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor after police discovered two juveniles at his campsite.
Police Capt. Ernest Buzzy of the 2nd Precinct said some of the squatters' tents were ``pretty elaborate,'' boasting heaters, cooking facilities and cots. A few were large enough that a ``6-foot man could stand'' upright in them.
One of the homeless men driven off by police had lived in the Runnymede Corp. woods for seven years, said Buzzy. Another man and his wife, in their late 30s or early 40s, had been camping there for three years.
Accompanying police into the 200-acre parcel across from Virginia Beach Middle School was a contingent of city workers, including representatives of the departments of mental health, fire, housing and neighborhood preservation, social services, detoxification and zoning as well as Volunteers of America staff. The non-profit VOA runs the city's winter homeless shelter program.
When told that they had 24 hours to move off the property or face arrest, most of the homeless people took advantage of the city's offers of help. Three opted for assistance paying for bus tickets out of town, one asked for medical assistance because of a severe scalp laceration incurred during a fight, one requested shelter and help with mental health issues, two asked for assistance in getting Veteran Administration benefits and three asked for assistance in getting food stamps.
But four of the homeless campers told task force members: ``Hey, this is our way of life. We don't ask for anything, and we want to be left alone,'' said Buzzy.
Buzzy said Wednesday that he was unsure whether all the squatters had departed their campsites as yet. But police will follow up and make sure the area is vacated and cleaned up, he said.
For some of the city's homeless, he explained, makeshift quarters have become ``a way of life they prefer.''
Buzzy indicated that the discovery of the homeless enclave was just the tip of an iceberg. There are ``large numbers'' of homeless people camped in other areas of town, he said. Many object to the restrictions the city's homeless shelter program puts on them, said Buzzy, citing drugs and alcohol as examples.
The police investigation was precipitated by an anonymous phone call from a woman who said that she was concerned for the small children who frequent the city park close to the woods. The woman reported having seen apparently homeless individuals going into the woods.
The juveniles found at Lingelbach's campsite - one a 15-year-old truant from Cox High School and the other a local runaway - were returned to school and parents, respectively, Buzzy said.
Lingelbach, who told police that he lives at 600 Linkhorn Court, was still being held in the city jail Wednesday on a $500 surety bond. He will face charges in court Dec. 16.
KEYWORDS: HOMELESS INDIGENT PEOPLE
by CNB