![\"Bethlehem](\"https:\/\/static.lehigh-v.lehigh-valley.production.k1.m1.brightspot.cloud\/dims4\/default\/86cef6d\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/1170x659+0+0\/resize\/880x496!\/quality\/90\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flehigh-valley-brightspot.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fec%2F67%2Fca633fee4a6eb1fc94a80cf203a4%2Fimg-1282.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
‘Move with discernment’<\/p>\n
A man who identified himself only as Julius, 32, said he\u2019s lived in the area \u201con and off\u201d for three years but now plans to head back home to New Jersey.<\/p>\n
He was helping a friend pack up their things.<\/p>\n
After his ID was stolen, Julius said, it\u2019s been \u201ckind of an uphill battle\u201d as he\u2019s currently between jobs.<\/p>\n
For himself and others of the encampment, he said the homeless population is \u201calways in a state of flux,\u201d and there are a variety of reasons any particular person could find himself or herself in a similar situation.<\/p>\n
Ending up behind on rent, medical bills piling up, or even falling on hard times as a whole \u2014 he said there usually is more to a homeless person\u2019s backstory than some of the general public may have come to believe.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of us, life got in the way,” Julius said. “We got really unlucky, and we didn\u2019t have a backup plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then there are others who got in the way of their own lives and got too comfortable with whatever our vices were, and it caught up to us eventually.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo just move with discernment because everyone has a story.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘More intimate relationship’<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t mean crime doesn\u2019t happen in the area, he said. He said he\u2019s seen some others \u201cblatantly pollute\u201d the nearby canal or use drugs in plain sight, for instance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem is that from the outside looking in with people who have never experienced homelessness, sometimes when they witness the bad, it becomes the defining term for the overall populace.”<\/p>\n
Julius, 32<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the problem is that from the outside looking in with people who have never experienced homelessness, sometimes when they witness the bad, it becomes the defining term for the overall populace,\u201d Julius said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the actions of a few can weigh heavy consequences for the rest of us because of that. <\/p>\n
“There are some, unfortunately, which is the main reason why we\u2019re being asked to leave, who kind of don\u2019t take into consideration that they\u2019re not the only person here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julius said he\u2019s personally experienced city officials and others \u2014 such as workers with the Community Connections partnership of Bethlehem Health Bureau and city police active at the encampment \u2014 approach the situation with nuance as needed.<\/p>\n
The health bureau, for example, had its mobile community health clinic nearby for folks in need.<\/p>\n
But he said he\u2019d like to see more social service workers involved who have \u201ca more intimate relationship\u201d with homelessness, he said.<\/p>\n
![\"Bethlehem](\"https:\/\/static.lehigh-v.lehigh-valley.production.k1.m1.brightspot.cloud\/dims4\/default\/533d682\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/1170x653+0+0\/resize\/880x491!\/quality\/90\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flehigh-valley-brightspot.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2F6a%2F5e%2Fe06fe3994e478750f266bb70614a%2Fimg-1281.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Will Oliver<\/p>\n
\/<\/p>\n
LehighValleyNews.com<\/p>\n
Norfolk Southern railroad police and Bethlehem P.D. stood watch as an excavator razed a portion of a Bethlehem homeless encampment along the Lehigh River on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025.<\/p>\n
‘Issues of homelessness are complex’<\/p>\n
Benay Berger, city Health Bureau director of nursing and Community Connections, said her team has been at the encampment \u201calmost daily,\u201d especially in recent months.<\/p>\n
As the encampment sprawls more than 20 acres along the Lehigh River, she said officials may be working to clear the land for a couple of weeks. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe want you to know if you don\u2019t want to be down here or you don\u2019t want to be in an unsafe situation, we are going to help you get out of that situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Benay Berger, city Health Bureau director of nursing and Community Connections<\/p>\n
Nine or so individuals were working in the immediate area Monday to move their things.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just here to make sure that anyone who wants to take any kind of services knows that we\u2019re right here,\u201d Berger said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe want you to know if you don\u2019t want to be down here or you don\u2019t want to be in an unsafe situation, we are going to help you get out of that situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Substance abuse and mental health services are most common for the Bethlehem encampment, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel bad. I especially came here just to check them out and help them any way I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fareed Ahmed, ambassador for Humanity First USA<\/p>\n
\u201cThe issues of homelessness are complex, and that\u2019s why, I think, no one in the world has solved it yet,\u201d Berger said.<\/p>\n
For those interested in helping the cause, she recommended donating directly to area groups working to end poverty, hunger and homelessness.<\/p>\n
They include New Bethany, Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering and Lehigh Conference of Churches, to name a few.<\/p>\n
Fareed Ahmed, ambassador for Humanity First USA, brought coffee and gloves for folks, and even offered a LehighValleyNews.com<\/a> reporter a pair.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel bad,\u201d Ahmed said of the displacement. \u201cI especially came here just to check them out and help them any way I can.\u201d<\/p>\n Will Oliver<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n LehighValleyNews.com<\/p>\n Norfolk Southern railroad police and Bethlehem P.D. stood watch as an excavator razed a portion of a Bethlehem homeless encampment along the Lehigh River on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025.<\/p>\n ‘Rely on the relationships’<\/p>\n![\"Bethlehem](\"https:\/\/static.lehigh-v.lehigh-valley.production.k1.m1.brightspot.cloud\/dims4\/default\/bf38896\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4032x2268+0+0\/resize\/880x495!\/quality\/90\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flehigh-valley-brightspot.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Ffc%2Fd6%2Fbb5157e74c4e9c2ed4146c75bb4c%2Fimg-1252.jpg\")
<\/p>\n