Advocate: Homeless knew cleanup was coming

By Joe Gorman

jgorman@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Bob Altman said it was no surprise that the city is getting rid of the homeless encampments along the railroad tracks downtown.

Altman, who heads up the Help Hotline Crisis Center, said word had gotten around that the city would begin dismantling the camps and moving the homeless who stayed there, long before authorities actually began the effort Monday.

Altman said he has offered his help to the city in finding people a place to stay. He said oftentimes, homeless people who are eligible for assistance will change their minds several times about taking it.

Help Hotline and Catholic Charities have been trying to help the homeless populations downtown.

City police and other city departments began cleaning up the areas where the homeless stay late last week and continued that effort Monday after an inspection into a fire at one of the encampments found a large amount of trash. Anyone caught trying to stay on the tracks will be cited for criminal trespass.

Altman said he can understand the city’s problem because of a number of younger people who have been lured to the encampments to drink or take drugs or even take advantage of some of the older, regular homeless people who police know. He also said there has been an influx of people who are not homeless who nevertheless come downtown to drink and do drugs with the homeless community, something Police Chief Robin Lees said Monday was an issue affecting how the department deals with the homeless downtown.

Police have been enforcing the city’s open-container and disorderly conduct ordinances in recent weeks because of complaints about aggressive begging and panhandling downtown.

Lees said Tuesday he has had nothing but positive feedback on the issue and that one of the agencies who works with the homeless told him of at least two people who qualify for assistance and do not need to be homeless. He said it reinforces one of his points in that people who bring blankets or other items to the homeless downtown, although they mean well, are actually hindering them from seeking help because as long as they keep getting help, they have no incentive to look for programs.

Altman said he expects some of the people who do not try to get help to continue to move along on the tracks along the river. He said anyone who needs assistance should call 211 at Help Hotline, where they will be pointed in the right direction.