ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Imagine not knowing where you will sleep tonight. That’s the dilemma facing some people in our community.
“So where are you going to be tonight?” asked 69 News reporter Jaccii Farris.
“Probably at West Park, sleeping on a bench. Sitting on the bench, sleeping,” said Samuel Cordoba.
Cordoba and Swain Flagg are homeless.
For the last few months, they have sought shelter at the YMCA warming shelter in Allentown.
The warming shelter is now closed, but will operate on Code Blue until the end of April, meaning if the temperatures dip, they will provide shelter.
After April 30th, the space used for the warming shelter will turn into a space for children.
“Really don’t have a place to go, trying to figure it out now,” said Flagg.
Since the warming shelter opened last fall, it provided more than 12,000 beds and hot meals and continues to work toward solutions for its former guests.
“Know that the community has come together and are working tirelessly to case manage the individuals and find them a permanent place to go,” said Tami Unger, Branch Director for River Crossing YMCA.
It’s an issue that’s magnified by the eviction notice served to more than 100 people living in an encampment at Fountain Park.
The city saying the site must be cleared by April 20 due to safety concerns with it being located in a floodplain.
Mayor Matt Tuerk saying that deadline could be extended, and that the city just received 200,000 dollars to help the Allentown’s homeless population.
“What we wanted to be spent on is case management, so working with individuals who face a host of different challenges,” said Tuerk.
Earlier this week, City Council toured the encampment looking for insight, suggesting that the city and county work together on a solution.
One suggestion being a homeless campsite, similar to those found in Harrisburg and Wilmington Delaware.
Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel says it’s a model already under consideration.
“Candidly, the biggest challenge is finding a plot of land that also makes sense from the standpoint of the homeless being able to get there and then get from there to services, or perhaps a job,” said Seigel.
Siegel says the long-term solution for the homeless population is supportive housing and access to healthcare.
While a search for solutions is underway, Conference of Churches’ street team is trying to connect the homeless population with those resources Tuerk was talking about.
“We’re asking for the community to call upon us and let us know if you see homelessness in your community, if you have identified us, please tell us. That helps us find people faster, get them the services quicker,” said Abigail Goldfarb, Executive Director of the Lehigh Conference of Churches.
You can contact the Lehigh Conference of Churches on their website.
Lehigh County says it’s drafting an emergency declaration to help search for solutions with community partners.
In the meantime, people like Flagg and Cordoba say they are unsure of where they will land, as it takes time to get into the system to access those resources.