More media outlets are picking up on the story:
I think the urgency around this issue is justified. These folks are here for a reason. Why did they choose not to go into the shelters? Do they represent gaps in our service system that we need to address? I would say YES!
At a basic level, I do not think anyone feels that these people - citizens of Fort Worth, Texas - deserve to suffer. I think we generally want to see everyone have access to basic necessities. If you do feel these people do not deserve help, I would invite you to justify it here. These are the kinds of discussions we need to have if we are to address the problem of homelessness.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Tent City Update
The Homeless Camp situation I posted about earlier has made the news. More info there about the status of the camp. Bottom line is that the owner of the property, an energy company in Fort Worth, has ten days to deal with the code violations on the property or face fines. Issues probably include - and these are guesses - people residing in an area zoned as commercial or industrial, people living in tents (I was told by a person living there that this was mentioned to them), and likely more.
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/01/10/eviction-near-for-fort-worth-tent-city-families/
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Tent City
For a year - likely longer - a community of people who are homeless have been living on a patch of ground southeast of downtown Fort Worth. I was told it used to be a lumber yard and at some point a house occupied the northeastern corner. The chimney and slab foundation continue to do their part even though the walls and roof left a long time ago.
Make no mistake about it: this is private property.
Here's the site. Lancaster Avenue to the north, Riverside Drive to the east, Highway 287 to the south and west:
There is really only one way in by car (bottom right of photo). The "arrow" formed by the trees and scrubs also indicates where the property is elevated. It actually overlooks Lancaster at the northernmost tip by.....60 or 70 feet. The faint road - which is actually Cobb Street - leads right to the old home site.
Over time, people unable or unwilling to go into Fort Worth's shelters have migrated to what is called "Tent City". It started with one or two regular residents but grew considerably. At last count there were 55 tents and over 60 people living in tent city.
Here is what I saw when I went to visit yesterday:
The sheer scope of the site was incredible but it was clean and everyone I met was welcoming and friendly. According to some residents, officials from the city may be coming to the site Monday, January 10th at 12:00pm. They may be coming to tell them to leave, no one seemed to know for sure. In a situation like this, the people living on the property, more accurately the people considered to be trespassing on the property, have few to no rights. They can be immediately removed or given a period of time to vacate the premises. They can be ticketed and possibly arrested. I hope that if these 60+ people are told to leave - which it is the right of the property owner to do so - that they are given the opportunity to make arrangements for a place to go to.
I asked several people what they would do if told to leave. No one stated that they wanted to go to a shelter. One woman stated that she was not going to leave her pet dog while one man said he did not want to get sick. He went on to say he would not go to the shelter and take the risk of catching crabs, bedbugs, or what he called shelter cough. One man confidently said that it would be no big deal if told to leave, they would figure it out - they always do. I asked another man how he would feel about being separated from his friends if they were forced to vacate and go their own ways. He told me that he loved them like family, trusted them with his life, and it would be very hard to leave them.
I only asked to take pictures of a few people who lived there:
Local churches have been helping the residents of Tent City for a while now. Some people say they helped too much and ended up attracting so many people that the camp was now too large to ignore. Others speculated the upcoming Superbowl was the reason the camp was now being targeted. It is fairly visible from one of the major interstates connecting Fort Worth and Arlington.
I'll keep you updated on what happens to Tent City....
Make no mistake about it: this is private property.
Here's the site. Lancaster Avenue to the north, Riverside Drive to the east, Highway 287 to the south and west:
There is really only one way in by car (bottom right of photo). The "arrow" formed by the trees and scrubs also indicates where the property is elevated. It actually overlooks Lancaster at the northernmost tip by.....60 or 70 feet. The faint road - which is actually Cobb Street - leads right to the old home site.
Over time, people unable or unwilling to go into Fort Worth's shelters have migrated to what is called "Tent City". It started with one or two regular residents but grew considerably. At last count there were 55 tents and over 60 people living in tent city.
Here is what I saw when I went to visit yesterday:
 |
| Looking south at tents and kitchen |
 |
| Another grouping of tents west of the kitchen |
 | |||
| Even further west |
 | ||
| Same group, clean and well organized |
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| I was told this is a community kitchen that serves meals three times a day |
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| It is obvious some folks have been here for a while |
 |
| More tents.... |
I asked several people what they would do if told to leave. No one stated that they wanted to go to a shelter. One woman stated that she was not going to leave her pet dog while one man said he did not want to get sick. He went on to say he would not go to the shelter and take the risk of catching crabs, bedbugs, or what he called shelter cough. One man confidently said that it would be no big deal if told to leave, they would figure it out - they always do. I asked another man how he would feel about being separated from his friends if they were forced to vacate and go their own ways. He told me that he loved them like family, trusted them with his life, and it would be very hard to leave them.
I only asked to take pictures of a few people who lived there:
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| The camp minister and mayor |
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I'll keep you updated on what happens to Tent City....
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