San Jose's homeless move to Walmart parking lot

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A number of homeless people forced out of an encampment in San Jose called The Jungle, aren't moving too far. They're setting up in a couple of different areas nearby.

A man who used to live in The Jungle watches as cleanup crews tear down what used to be his home. Workers are clearing debris and hazardous waste from the site on Story and Senter Roads in San Jose.

The city called the encampment unsafe and unsanitary, and it polluted Coyote Creek. The homeless who camped here were forced out on Thursday.

"There's a few people that did return to the site. It's been officially closed since yesterday so we've had to either escort them out or if they weren't willing to leave, we've worked out other means to get them off the site," said Ray Bramson, the Homeless Response Manager for San Jose.

Bramson says they have been transitioning people into housing alternatives, but not everyone is using those resources.

We found a group setting up near the creek off Tully Road despite no trespassing signs. And more people moved to camp in the Walmart parking lot on Story Road.

"When we got moved out, we basically went from here to there," said Erich George von Shultz.

"I don't like the confinement, you know the rules of having to get up and pull your stuff all over the place. I just like to be free," said Leticia.

This is a good community. It's like a family you know," said von Shultz.

A security guard monitored the homeless at Walmart but did not ask them to leave.

Walmart released this statement Friday:

"Our store is a proud partner with the community. These folks don't have permission to be on the property, so we are working with community leaders to find the best solution to this situation."

Bramson says they are dispatching outreach teams to the camp sites, and they are also not going to allow the reestablishment of any major encampment site anywhere in the city.