Forcefully Removing Homeless Encampments Removes People From the Help They Need and Could Put Them in Danger
You’re not eliminating the “problem,” you’re just moving people around.
Last week, the Mayor of Philadelphia ordered police to clear a homeless encampment in the Kensignton Neighborhood. There are multiple versions of how things went. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer:
“City officials said in a news release Wednesday evening that its outreach workers had connected 55 people to housing services, including low-barrier shelter beds or recovery-focused shelter beds, in the 30-day period leading up to the encampment resolution. Four people had been connected to drug and alcohol treatment, the city said.
Of the 59 total people connected to housing or recovery services, 19 received such assistance on the day of the encampment clearing, Joe Grace, Parker’s spokesperson, said in a statement. No one was arrested, the city said.”
Also in the Inquirer:
“Eva Fitch, a harm reduction advocate who came to the scene to offer help to people living there, said there were about 30 unhoused people in the area at about 7 a.m. She said police told people that outreach workers were on their way, but many on the street left on their…
