Banning camp: ‘Opportunity Village’ up and running; occupants hope to turn their lives around

After months in the making, a new emergency shelter for the homeless in Banning is now up and running.

It’s set up across the street from the former encampment, seen from the I-10 heading into the valley.

The new 'Opportunity Village' is a place where some can call home for the next 90 days. “I’m definitely blessed to have this here now, it’s been very helpful,” said occupant Christopher Lohoff.

The city said it’s not a permanent solution, but rather a place for people to turn their lives around. “It’s really the first step from being on the street into some type of shelter,” said Banning City Manager Doug Schulze.

The shelter consists 20 air-controlled pallet shelters. City says 35 people have moved into the new shelter so far. Each unit has 2 foldable beds, along with air conditioning and electricity. 

There's also showers, a laundry room and bathroom for the community to use. There will be an office coordinator on-site full time, along with 24/7 security.

“There’s more amenities this time. We didn’t have a washer dryer last time or even the showers. We didn’t have no water fountains or anything like that either so it’s a lot better than last time,” said occupant Jordan Lohoff.

The city told me it’s working with local agencies to provide job help, along with drug, alcohol and behavioral services.

“You know, we really hope to see people moving out quickly. Not staying for the full 90 days so we can get more clients in and serve more people,” Schulze added.

Occupants of the new shelter say it’s a fresh start for them. “They’re very helpful people. They’re very nice helpful people. They don’t stereotype, you know they don’t put anybody down. They’re willing to help anybody that’s wanting help," Christopher explained, "In 90 days, If everything keeps going the way it is, I can see myself moving forward from there.”

But because of the curfew, where no one can leave or get back into the village between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m., they feel like they’re trapped inside.

“If someone has to go to work at graveyard or whatever, then why couldn’t we leave and come back,” Jordan explained.

The city said the curfew is in place for safety and security reasons, but plans to work with its occupants to make sure the village is moving in the right direction.

“Whether it’s you know, maybe an individual case issue with a client or whether it’s something with the village, or a rule that isn’t working the way it should or anything that might happen," Schulze said.

There are still concerns about the former site of the encampment, where many have seen piles of trash instead of the tents that were once there.

The city said it’s working with Waste Management to get it all cleaned up, but there’s no timeline yet on when it will be done.

As News Channel 3 reported last week, the city evicted the people living here. As for the remaining people who did not get a spot at the village, the city said they were able to get more than 50 housed at other shelters throughout the Valley.

The remainder of the occupants are scattered throughout the city. For now, there’s no long term plan yet for those people. City officials say they're working with Banning Police to prevent anymore encampments from popping up.