Hide Transcript Show Transcript

VICKI: AT SACRAMENTO MEMORIAL LAWN CEMETERY, SOME FAMILIES ARE FED UP. THE GRAVESITES OF LOVED ONES. >> THIS ISN’T RIGHT. IT’S NOT FAIR. IT’S NOT A CEMETERY. VICKI: BECOMING A THOROUGHFARE FOR A NEIGHBORING HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT. >> THAT’S MY BABY BOY. THAT’S MY BABY BOY RIGHT THERE. THAT’S MY NEPHEW. AND THEY COME OUT BACK OF THAT TENT AND GO TO THE BATHROOM. VICKI: LOVED ONES OF SARAH CLEMENT AND HER FAMILY HAVE BEEN PLACED TO REST HERE FOR DECADES. >> THERE’S AT LEAST 20 OF OUR FAMILY MEMBERS IN HERE AND ANOTHER 20 GRAVES ARE RESERVED JUST FOR OUR FAMILY. VICKI: THE CEMETERY IS OFF STOCKTON BOULEVARD. THE PROBLEM REALLY CENTERS ON ONE PORTION OF THE CEMETERY. IT BUTTS UP AGAINST PRIVATE PROPERTY. YOU SEE IT’S FENCED OFF, BARB WIRE, BUT THERE IS ALSO AN ACCESS POINT. THE ENCAMPMENT DIRECTLY BEHIND, HOVERING RIGHT NEXT TO THE BACK OF THE CEMETERY. >> THIS IS SACRED GROUND FOR OUR FAMILY. NOT JUST MINE. HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE THAT I KNOW. VICKI: THE CEMETERY HAS MADE MULTIPLE CALLS TO THE CITY ABOUT TRESPASSING. BUT THE NEIGHBORING ENCAMPMENT IS ON SACRAMENTO COUNTY PROPERTY. >> IT’S A CITY. I MEAN, THERE ARE JUST GROUPINGS EVERYWHERE AND THEY’RE ALL TUCKED IN ON THE FAR FENCE. VICKI: JESSIE HEAKE, CLEARING THE WEEDS AND FIRE HAZARDOUS DEBRIS, GETTING AN UP-CLOSE LOOK. >> OH, IT’S PRETTY BAD. THERE ARE MULTIPLE TENTS. LITTLE CONGREGATION AREAS. THERE’S HUGE PILES OF TRASH. BUCKETS OF FECAL MATTER. I MEAN, THEY’VE JUST TOTALLY DESTROYED IT BACK THERE. VICKI: REGARDLESS WHO IS RESPONSIBLE, THESE FAMILIES WANT THEIR LOVED ONES TO REST IN PEACE. >> BY A CEMETERY. I JUST DON’T THINK THIS IS THE RIGHT PLACE FOR THEM TO BE. I FEEL BAD FOR THEM, BUT I JUST DON’T LIKE THAT THEY ARE HERE. VICKI: THE CEMETERY DECLINED AN INTERVIEW, BUT IN A STATEMENT SAYS THEY ARE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND ARE WORKING TO RESOLVE IT. IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY, VICK

Advertisement Homeless encampment encroaches on Sacramento cemetery Concerned families describe human waste, trespassing over gravesites Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Families are frustrated a homeless encampment is encroaching on the gravesites of loved ones. The encampment is on a vacant lot bordering Sacramento Memorial Lawn Cemetery with trees and brush dividing the two properties. The encampment is just a couple feet away from some of the gravesites, and at times, the area is used as a thoroughfare for bikes. “This isn’t right. It’s not fair,” Sarah Clement said. “That’s my baby boy. That’s my nephew. And they come out back of the tent and they go to the bathroom.”Clement and her family have gravesites going back decades.“There’s at least 20 of our family members in here and another 20 graves are reserved just for our family,” Danny Lawson said. “This is sacred ground for our family. Not just mine. Hundreds of people that I know.”Sacramento Memorial Lawn Cemetery has made multiple calls to law enforcement. However, the cemetery is the city’s jurisdiction, but the neighboring encampment is the county’s jurisdiction. Sacramento police have received trespassing calls, but the encampment is the county’s responsibility. The encampment is on the El Paraiso Drainage Pump Station, which is operated by the Sacramento County Department of Water Resources. A contracted fire and weed abatement company was onsite clearing debris. “It’s a city. I mean, there are just groupings everywhere, and they’re all tucked in on the far fence,” Jessie Heake with the abatement company said. “It’s pretty bad. There are tents. Congregation areas. There's huge piles of trash. Buckets of fecal matter. I mean they’ve just totally destroyed it back there.”The county said they are now aware of the encampment and code enforcement will be onsite Wednesday to issue notices. “By a cemetery, I just don’t think this is the right place for them to be,” Doreen Perez, whose sister is buried at the cemetery, said. “I feel bad for them, but I just don’t like that they are here.”Sacramento Memorial Lawn Cemetery released a statement to KCRA3. "Sacramento Memorial Lawn's mission is to help families memorialize every life with dignity, including providing and maintaining a tranquil and beautiful place for memorialization. We are aware of the situation concerning the encampment on the property adjacent to ours. While the property does not belong to Sacramento Memorial Lawn, we look forward to any efforts to resolve the matter. We want to reassure our families and the local community that we are committed to serving them and their loved ones."