CRESTVIEW — Cabana Way describes a leisurely loop off Lloyd Street North, peacefully removed from the bustle of U.S. Highway 90, yet close to shops and services.
Kids ride bikes in Ridgecrest Estates’ main street, which provides the subdivision’s only entrance and exit. Sometimes, they go exploring in woods adjacent to the development.
But a father's discovery of a tent encampment while hiking with his children in the woods has residents nervous.
“Because of this, I can’t let my kids play in the woods,” James Rowley said. “We’ve had a lot of break-ins and robberies. We watched a truck get stolen live on our surveillance.”
Crestview Police Department spokesman Lt. Don Fountain said two recent arrests, including that of a juvenile on Feb. 1, could be related to the vehicle burglaries.
'THEY'RE GOOD PEOPLE'
Neighbors are still concerned about who might live in tents in the 53-acre woods owned by Banktrust of Santa Rosa Beach.
Rowley worried that with the 2014 closure of Harvest Ministries’ residential treatment center on Main Street, former Harvest residents, including possible sex offenders, could be living in the tents.
Until he met one of them.
Returning to check out the tent encampment Tuesday morning, Rowley met Daniel, a homeless man from Santa Rosa Beach who has applied for low-rent housing under Section 8.
Daniel lives on monthly Social Security and gets some of his meals from area homeless shelters and church food pantries. He said the homeless in the area behave and police themselves.
“I don’t know everything that goes on in these woods, but I know the people and they’re good people,” Daniel said. “I don’t know of anybody doing anything bad. There’s no drugs or nothing. We don’t put up with anything bad.”
KEEP TO THEMSELVES
Rowley’s wife, Alison, said she doesn’t want to jump to conclusions about the homeless people who live in the tents.
“I’m not saying the people living in the tents are the ones responsible for the thefts,” she said. “I am concerned for the safety of my children and others in the neighborhood.”
Daniel said he and other homeless people enter the woods from behind businesses on U.S. 90. They don’t want to intrude by walking through residential neighborhoods, he said.
“I’m the last one to bother anybody,” he said.
Crestview Police Community Services Officer Sam Kimmons said the homeless generally like to be left alone and do not tend to commit vehicle burglaries.
“Most of them panhandle,” Kimmons said. “That’s kind of their job. If they have a disability, they use it to get sympathy. But their situations are all kind of different.”
WORK AND HELP
As for Rowley, after visiting Daniel at his camp site, he learned the homeless man had skills he could employ while renovating a home he owns.
“I’m too old to do hard work,” Daniel said, but added he regularly visits CareerSource Okaloosa Walton to look for employment.
Rowley offered to bring Daniel some basic supplies, including clothes and a new cell phone charger to replace the one another homeless person had stolen.
After visiting with Daniel, Rowley said he felt more comfortable knowing who was in the woods, though he will still supervise his children when they play there. Daniel assured him the kids are safe from predators.
“I’m not harming anyone,” he said. “I just want to be left alone.”
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Tent encampment discovery worries residents (VIDEO)