The city of Phoenix has successfully cleared a massive downtown homeless encampment by a court-ordered deadline Saturday by helping more than 500 people find beds in shelters and motels.
The hundreds of tents that once lined the area’s street blocks are now gone, with only a few people milling around or pushing shopping carts filled with their wares.
“I was staying with a friend in a tent but he has now gone to a shelter,” said Lily Bitsui, 33, who looked a bit lost. Bitsui said he was away when city workers offered to help people find shelter inside.
“They’re really cleaning things up, and the amount of crime around here is down now,” said Rudy Soliz, director of operations at the area’s Justa Center, which provides daytime services for older homeless people, including food and housing assistance. . “I’m glad that many of them have gone to shelters.”
Soliz said the move has also reduced neighborhood crime.
Phoenix has been challenged to balance the concerns of businesses and homeowners with the rights of the homeless. Takashi Sato for the NY Post
The process of cleaning up the area began in the spring, with city workers focusing on one block at a time, offering street residents places to sleep indoors, including emergency shelters, temporary motel stays and long-term transitional housing for the elderly.
After every 15 blocks are cleared, they are cleared of debris and closed for camping.
City officials say that over the course of several months, 718 people were offered assistance in finding shelter and 585 — about 80% — accepted placement.
Phoenix has also now opened city parking lots that were recently rezoned to allow homeless people to set up tents in a safer and more controlled environment.
Hundreds of tents that once lined the road blocks in the area are now gone. Takashi Sato for the NY Post
A city statement said 21 people currently live at the site, which will have portable toilets and showers, food service, property storage, security and a resident code of conduct.
Drugs, alcohol and fires are prohibited and camping will not be permitted along the side of the property.
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The city is able to accommodate so many people because 482 new temporary shelter beds have been added this year, including 362 in October. There are 600 beds in the city’s largest emergency shelter nearby.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney in October denied a request by city officials to extend the cleanup of the encampment known as “The Zone,” and reiterated his order that they complete the work by Saturday.
A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 30 to confirm that Phoenix complies with the November deadline.
Like several other major cities, Phoenix has been challenged to balance the concerns of businesses and homeowners with the rights of the homeless.
Business owners and residents near the encampment in Phoenix called it a public nuisance that caused them damage, litter and crime.
The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2019 that homeless people should not be criminalized for sleeping outside if no alternative exists.
“Although the City has met this court deadline, there is still work to be done,” the city said in a statement.
“The goal remains to ensure that everyone has access to safe housing and services while maintaining the quality of life in our neighborhoods for all residents.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
