HUMBOLDT PARK — On a frigid Friday morning, dozens of homeless advocates, neighbors, volunteers and metropolis employees gathered in Humboldt Park as town’s largest tent encampment was largely swept away.
No less than a dozen tent residents nonetheless dwelling within the park have been advised to go away and transfer into two city-run shelters, one in Pilsen and a brand new one in Rogers Park that opened Friday.
Many needed to depart their tents behind as a result of the shelters don’t enable tents. Some selected to deliver luggage of garments and different requirements with them as a substitute.
Mardoqueo, a tent resident who doesn’t need to go to one of many shelters, packed up his belongings with the assistance of some neighbors and plans to stick with a buddy for a couple of days, he mentioned. He wants to remain shut by due to upcoming well being appointments and operations.
He watched in tears as his tent was damaged down and picked up by metropolis vans and dumped into the trash together with dozens of different tents and belongings from folks, a lot of whom had already moved previous to Friday’s deadline.
“It’s unhappy, it’s actually unhappy to be compelled to go away,” Mardoqueo mentioned in Spanish.
Others close by expressed comparable emotions. Porfirio Elliott, who has lived within the tent encampment for six months, isn’t positive the place he and his fiancé will find yourself, however they’re debating transferring to the Gompers Park tent encampment in Mayfair. They have been supplied shelter placement however don’t need to go as a result of they need to keep collectively.
“They choose folks up there [at Gompers] to assist with work so possibly I can get picked up, too,” Elliott mentioned.
He’s additionally secured a part-time job tuckpointing up north, which he hopes will get him sufficient cash to have fun Christmas along with his fiancé.
“If I can get 30 to 40 hours, I’ll be capable of give my fiancé a little bit Christmas,” he mentioned.
Elliott, who grew up in Humboldt Park, hopes to return to his neighborhood some day.
The closure is a part of a metropolis plan that’s been within the works for the reason that summer season, mentioned Sendy Soto, town’s first chief homelessness officer. Metropolis officers supplied all the tent residents housing through the Division of Household and Assist Providers’ accelerated transferring occasion in September, which secured 63 residences for households dwelling within the park.
Those that didn’t get housing have been supplied shelter beds. On Friday, some mentioned they missed out on housing in September as a result of they weren’t there on the time or didn’t have IDs or paperwork town wanted.
Jose, who didn’t need to give his final title, mentioned he was dwelling in one of many tents for the reason that summer season however didn’t get any placement as a result of he wasn’t current through the housing occasion. At first he didn’t need to depart the park, however outreach employees satisfied him to take a spot on the Rogers Park shelter, which can give 25 males from the Humboldt encampment their very own room.
“I ended up being out right here on the street as a result of I ended up getting a reconstructed knee and obtained denied incapacity,” Jose mentioned. “The physician says that I can not elevate not more than 15 kilos and I can solely work 4 hours standing up, so the place am I going to get a job? Nowhere will they’ve me for 4 hours.”
He packed up his gadgets on Friday and plans to place a few of them in a buddy’s home to be saved quickly, he mentioned. Like others who didn’t get on the voucher checklist, he feels shut out of the housing course of.
Ald. Jessie Fuentes (twenty sixth) mentioned the phrase unfold about her workplace’s work to seek out housing for folk dwelling within the park, which led to much more tents popping up there in current months.
“We’ve had folks constantly transfer in as a result of Humboldt Park supplied the assets of housing and shelter and since folks contemplate this place residence,” Fuentes mentioned Friday. “We then doubled down in our dedication to serve 100% of the tent encampment by going to seek out the shelter choices, and dealing actually laborious to be sure that the non-congregate shelter in Ald. Maria Hadden’s ward opened immediately.”
Those that select to enter the shelter will probably be related with a case employee and coordinated entry packages to allow them to get on town’s lengthy checklist for housing, officers mentioned. Fuentes’ workplace additionally distributed bus passes, cell telephones and bike locks in an effort to verify the tent residents keep related to their assets and group, she mentioned.
The trouble to clear the park has induced rigidity amongst neighbors, homeless advocates and housing teams, with some calling the sweep an eviction and an assault on these most weak.
“I’m calling it an assault in opposition to humanity,” mentioned Jim Meaney, outreach employee with The Orange Tent Challenge. “We have now labored extensively with town throughout this complete time period, however we’ve joined in with the opposite organizations to oppose this deadline … With 30 or so folks, can’t [the city] lengthen it a month till they get them in housing?”
Metropolis officers have mentioned the timeline is partially as a result of chilly temperatures and since the shelter and housing choices have been acquired.
“I don’t need anybody to should dwell in a tent, should bear a chilly snap. We have now watched folks grow to be severely ailing,” Fuentes mentioned. “We have now watched folks die. We have now watched tents blow up due to propane tanks [in the winter] … We have now an ethical obligation to maintain folks secure … and we additionally should navigate the excessive tensions. We have now to navigate these tough conversations.”
Park district officers and law enforcement officials will extra actively monitor the world to stop extra folks from transferring into the park after Friday, however nobody will probably be arrested and or cited, Soto mentioned. Outreach employees may also intently monitor the park and supply psychological well being or housing assets to anybody dwelling there after the weekend.
If any tents are seen over the weekend, occupants will obtain discover stickers to maneuver them and have till the next day to take action, in line with metropolis paperwork. If folks refuse to take the obtainable shelter choices, law enforcement officials may take away the tents themselves.
“We’re not going to be arresting folks as a result of they’re unsheltered or unhoused. We will probably be implementing folks when it comes to implementing the code of the park,” Soto mentioned.
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