Unhoused man receives thanks from mayor for work cleaning up after storm
Sacramento, CA (Feb. 13, 2023) - Timothy Valentine spent Friday like he does most days – cleaning up and helping others.
Valentine, 55, grew up in Tracy and once owned a large commercial property and construction company in Manteca. He lost his job and housing in Sacramento two years ago and now camps in the vicinity of Steelhead Creek in north Sacramento.
Mayor Darrell Steinberg met with Valentine on Friday to thank him for all his work during the severe storms that struck the city in January. Over those weeks Valentine repeatedly cleared debris from a large area along the creek in the vicinity of the bridge on West El Camino Avenue near Colfax. Now that the storms have passed, he continues his day-to-day cleaning, wheeling a bucket with implements. He takes care of others camping along the creek and does jobs for people who live in homes nearby.
“He can do anything; he changed the brakes on my car. He installed a drain in my yard,” said Kelly DeLeon, who lives in a house near the creek and has become friends with Valentine.
Valentine said he regularly pulls tires, grocery carts and other large debris from the creek, much of it left by people who aren’t unhoused but drive to the area to dump garbage.
"This is my home,” Valentine said, explaining his work. “it's our home, all of us: spaceship earth. This bridge, this neighborhood, are my opportunity to be the change I want to see in humanity."
