Yesterday, thirty four different homeless service providers in Baltimore agreed not to participate in any activities to displace homeless residents living in encampments - at least until the city can provide permanent housing for them. This action is in response to the clearing of a homeless encampment along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard last month. Both the Baltimore Sun and the Baltimore Brew reported this to have being done with very short notice, and more importantly without any arrangements to provide shelter for those displaced.
The incident has created a rift between homelessness advocates in the city and Baltimore City employees who work to end homelessness. At their last monthly meeting, The Journey Home, the Mayor’s homelessness advisory panel, voted to advise the mayor to put a moratorium on all encampment enclosures until the city ensures permanent housing for those they are displacing. Joining Sheilah in the studio is a Journey Home member who called for the moratorium, Antonia K. Fasanelli. She is executive director of the Homeless Person’s Representation Project.
