"But city officials say the conditions in the camp are deplorable and need to be rectified. A recent survey of homeless people living there found that most – more than 80 percent – are likely to die within the next 7 years due to existing illnesses and poor living conditions. "I'd have to see it firsthand before I bought the description and conclusions, but I do know that some camps can get pretty damned nasty, with rampant vermin, lice, scabies, human excrement and general filth. It may very well present a health risk to those inhabiting the camp, but the answer is not to chase everyone out and tear it down. Instead, Housing First should be implemented, every person in that camp ought to be given a home with no strings attached, and then aggressive outreach, trust-building and service referrals should be initiated with the new residents in order to begin offering services from drug and alcohol treatment to job training to SSDI representation. It works, it's cost effective, and it makes sense. Given the way our government seems to work lately, I'd venture to say this is exactly why it hasn't been done.... City Wants Homeless Encampment Removed By Lynn Anderson/Sun Reporter
City officials are pushing once again to remove a homeless encampment outside a downtown Baltimore church, but the pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church says he’ll go to jail if necessary to stop them.
The latest salvos in the long-running dispute come just weeks after the city and church announced they’d come to an agreement that would allow social workers to enter the leafy park at the end of the Jones Falls Expressway to help connect the shantytown’s residents with government services and housing.
But city officials say the conditions in the camp are deplorable and need to be rectified. A recent survey of homeless people living there found that most – more than 80 percent – are likely to die within the next 7 years due to existing illnesses and poor living conditions. The non-profit that helped with the survey said the results were worse than any other homeless cluster they had surveyed, including camps in Los Angeles and New York City.
The St. Vincent parish has supported the homeless for years. Parish members refer to the park, which is church property, as a sanctuary.
But city officials are challenging that definition, as well as the church’s social idealism.
In May, officials asked the church to consider shutting down the park in an effort to encourage the homeless to go to shelters that offer medical services, job training and transition into permanent housing.
