Evicted man no stranger to community
You might have seen or met Guillermo Reyes before. He goes by "March" or sometimes "Marc" and is often seen in the Terra Vista community with his shopping cart full of recyclables. Reyes is the 78 year old man featured in today's paper. The longtime resident was evicted after years of exhibiting pack-rat behavior. The story led to a series of phone calls to me starting at 6:30 a.m. this morning. Many wanted to know how a longtime homeowner can now be homeless. One caller said Reyes didn't slip through the cracks, he was sucked through the cracks.
Photo by Will Lester/Staff Photographer
I can't believe this has happened, I have seen this man around town for so many years. I really wish that he has found a good home and shame on his residents for doing this to him. So sad.
This really upsets me. He is an older man. He has been in the area for as long as I can remember and my family has been there for over 20 years. He has not found a good home. He is now HOMELESS. Really what did he hurt. He cleaned up the city of recycles. I do not understand why the city couldn't work with him and help him. They could have used the $ from his recycles to pay for whatever it was that was needed. I am so ashamed of humanity and the city for allowing this to happen.
I'm deeply saddened by this. I always seen this man walking around and even lent him a helping hand a few times in collecting cans and bottles. It's just his way of life, and no one should be persecuted for it.
This man lives near me and has been a very peaceful citizen for a very long time. His house is right next to Church St. and when Church St. was extended through to Day Creek and beyond he was required to fix up the exterior of his house. Now, he has been evicted and apparently has nowhere to live. We, as fellow human beings are responsible for each other and therefore this must be looked into.
Judy Schrader, wife of Paul Schrader, candidate for Sheriff of San Bernardino County.
If you ever met Mr. Reyes then you know what a sweet and charming man he truly is. If angels were ever disguised as mortal men he would undoubtedly fit the bill.
I never knew that he actually lived in a house. Through my conversations with him, I understood that he walked tens of miles each day to recycle bottles and cans and slept in his cart at night. I often pondered the thought of getting my church involved in helping to bring this elderly man some peace in life and a roof over his head. I can't express how distraught I have become knowing that he had that roof over his head but that somehow the city, neighbors, or residents of RC took it away from him, for what ever reason. I am overly-confident that whatever problems there were with Mr. Reyes recycling for a living, that they could have been easily resolved with a little proper help from the community. Whatever the case throwing an elderly 78 year old out on the streets could have been prevented.
I would hate to think that the city of Rancho Cucamonga and its residents are so callous as to have no remorse for the current state of affairs in regards to this man. After-all he's old enough to be a grandfather.
What goes around comes around, and those of us who stand idly by and do nothing to correct this indecency....shame on us. Perhaps we should discuss a plan of action to employ.
If you are reading this and want to help, keep the blog going by posting comments in it daily.
Communication through this medium will make it possible for us to communicate information and facts, share information and organize to help this man.
I have been a proud resident of rancho cucamonga for over 22 years. I have seen this man around town and live close to him. This man has always been courteous and is totally harmless, I am ashamed that the city of RC did not do more to try to help mr. Reyes as opposed to taking offensive action towards him. I hope he recuperates any monies due to him from the sale of his property and that an investigation is conducted on the people hired to supposedly try to help him. This is not what I expected from the city.