City Trying to Evict Homeless Encampment

Last week, reporters and editors from Word On The Street learned about the city’s plan to evict a homeless encampment under the 83 overpass, off Fallsway. Tony Simmons is quoted talking about the eviction in this WYPR story. The eviction story continues. Here is a bit from Word On The Street's blog:

“The City has not told them directly about the eviction threat; they had to hear it ‘through the grapevine’ of service providers and activists. Now they are telling the City: move us into housing.”  

The city has pushed the eviction date from February 26th to March 8th.  Gabby Knighton, Outreach Coordinator from the city’s Homeless Services Program, tells WYPR, “it was moved to 3/8 as an accommodation for individuals receiving disability income.  Disability checks typically arrive at the beginning of the month.”   

According to Baltimore Fox 45 News, the mayor's office said, "We can't allow people to live in an unsafe improvised encampment. The Office of Homeless Services will reach out and work with each individual to connect them with the services they need to live independently and off the streets.”

A profile of the camp from Word on the Street's Bonnie Lane is here. On Twitter people use the hashtag #Camp83.

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It’s the same encampment we visited during WYPR’s story on the homeless persons count, a HUD mandated point-in-time count done every two years.

Homeless encampment under I-83 in Baltimore.

Credit: Mary Rose Madden / WYPR