ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A sprawling homeless encampment along the Jordan Creek in Allentown has been cleared out.
The city gave the people living there two months to move out, and Monday was the deadline. Early in the morning, the backhoes and dumpsters pulled up, clearing out a homeless camp that Chrissy Delgado had called home for months.
“Trucks coming everywhere, dumpsters coming everywhere, it was just wild,” said Delgado.
Delgado showed us her tent when we visited the site last week. She left it all behind.
“We’re already homeless, so you’re just putting out more people on the street. A lot of people don’t know where they’re going,” said Delgado.
The city recommends they go to the Daybreak shelter for a bite to eat during the day, and at night head for the YMCA.
“Thanks to city and county funds, we were able to open up the YMCA warming shelter a little bit earlier this year,” said Allentown Communications Director Genesis Ortega.
Doug Brewer said he’s already got a bed reserved there.
“I already told her this morning that I would be there. So, I’ve got a place to sleep tonight that’s going to be nice and comfortable,” said Brewer.
But other folks like Cornell Weaver don’t have a solid plan.
“But like tonight. Like where are you sleeping tonight?” asked Reporter Rob Manch.
“Well, I may be sleeping on your porch. I don’t know. Wherever I sleep that I may be comfortable,” said Weaver.
The Daybreak shelter said it’s trying to connect people with resources for food and shelter.
“There’s really no designated sleep out sites in the Lehigh Valley, and for us, we’re just kind of taking it one step at a time, just like kind of the folks at the encampment,” said Daybreak Director of Development Christopher Moran.
A difficult step that Delgado hopes is in the right direction for her future.
“I want to get back on my feet. Get a job, get a house, get, show everybody that you, I’m not this one person that is going to do nothing with life,” said Delgado.
The city told us it had to clear this camp out because the land is sitting in a flood plain.
“This summer, our fire department has had to rescue several individuals after flooding. We recognize that this area is unsafe for people to be alongside,” said Ortega.
The city was also being sued by the owner of the apartment building adjacent to this property, Nat Hyman, but he said he plans to drop the suit now that the camp has been cleared out.