Allentown City Council voted unanimously to urge city administration to reconsider its decision to forcibly evacuate a homeless encampment with 10 days notice, leaving the people who live there with nowhere else to go.
City Council members voted 7-0 Wednesday evening for a motion that urges the city not to evict a homeless encampment near Fountain Park, which the city plans to do Monday, according to signs posted in the area. The nine residents who live there were given 10 days notice to evacuate.
City Council members, advocates and homeless residents all said that the forced eviction of the encampment is inhumane, with the people living there having no other options.
“We don’t know what to do, where to go, what’s going to be our next meal, shower, what is going to be anything for us. We can’t go to a homeless encampment for fear of being kicked out,” said Swaine Flagg, who lives at the encampment, during public comment at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. “What do we do? I am a little emotional, I am going to go sit down, but I know y’all have a heart. I know you have a heart. We have got to figure something out, please.”
According to a statement from city spokesperson Chelsea Koerbler, the city plans to evacuate the encampment because it is in a flood-prone area, which could risk the residents’ lives.
The planned eviction of that encampment comes amid compounding crises for the homeless community in Allentown. The YMCA Warming Shelter, which provides around 100 beds during the colder months, shut down for the season Wednesday.
Council members and advocates also said they were frustrated the city is repeating what happened last summer, when city officials gave 103 people living at an encampment in Jordan Park around two weeks’ notice to evacuate the area.
After significant pushback, the city delayed the evacuation by one month, and allocated additional funding to the YMCA shelter, which allowed it to open on the same day the camp closed.
This time, the city made no such arrangements for the encampment’s residents, who will have nowhere else to go if the evacuation moves forward. No year-round emergency shelters are available in the Lehigh Valley, and most seasonal shelters close in mid-April.
“I hope you guys can find a way to find places for everybody to go, because we all deserve a chance to sit inside and be in a safe place. I need your help,” said Tina Wood, who has been staying at the warming shelter with her 20-year-old daughter. “Please help us to find a resolution to get us off the streets. I am scared. My daughter and I have no permanent place tomorrow.”
Advocates called on the city to communicate with council and other homeless agencies when they plan to forcibly remove people from encampments.
“There wasn’t any communication,” said Council member Ce-Ce Gerlach, who introduced the motion urging the city to reconsider. “I found out from an unsheltered person on the street that this was happening. No one here knew this was happening.”
Frank Kane, Allentown’s recently appointed managing director, said that the encampment will be evacuated because the city received a complaint from someone at the Lehigh County Authority, which is located near the site.
Police visited the area, and Public Works staff posted signs last week ordering people to evacuate by April 20.
Kane said it is “unfortunate” that no City Council members or homeless nonprofits were notified about the evacuation prior to the posting. The city is working to develop a policy to ensure that does not happen in the future, he said.
Kane will meet with the mayor and other city leaders, and announce before Friday whether or not the city will move forward with the planned sweep, he told City Council.
Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.