CRM staff cleans up after homeless person

The director of Coastal Resource Management and his staff were seen yesterday in Garapan, cleaning up a private lot that is being used by a homeless person to store foodstuffs he gets from trash cans near the area.

CRM director John R. Joyner said they have done this five times already.

“This is an intriguing occasion because this site is occupied by a homeless person. He sleeps here at night and we have chased him several times but he is so fast,” Joyner said.

At one point, CRM staffs were able to talk to the guy and learned that he is a Palauan. He even gave his name as Peter.

Peter, they learned, has a family here on Saipan but he prefers to make his own living by scavenging from the trash bins.

The site, littered with non-biodegradable trash such as plastic bags and soda cans, is located just across Winchell’s.

Joyner said he has already seen the guy but this person was quick to run away and refused to talk to him.

“There are a lot of questions about this. Much of the stuff are from supermarkets and other stores in the area,” said Joyner.

However, Joyner said, it is unfair to blame these stores because they have done everything they could to secure their trash boxes by putting locks on it.

“Still there is no effect. He just keeps doing it,” Joyner said, adding that another private lot owned by Saipan World Resort in Susupe is also being used by the same person.

Similar security efforts have been done by World Resort but the man keeps scrounging through their trash.

Government agencies, including the Department of Public Safety, Division of Environmental Quality and the Department of Public Health, are already aware of this and are trying to remedy this problem.

When asked if the man may be psychologically impaired, Joyner said he doesn’t think so. “Maybe it’s just his lifestyle. Maybe it’s laziness.”

He said this should not be tolerated because “it is everyone’s responsibility to make sure the environment is safe and clean.”

“We have to find out how to address this problem. Did he commit a crime? Definitely yes, and it is about littering. He must be fined $500,” said Joyner.

But, he added, the problem is where this man would get the money to pay the fine if he only wants a lifestyle like this. Besides, being lazy is not a crime.

“But we cannot allow an eyesore that impinges on our tourists when they pass by the area,” said Joyner.