After ‘misunderstanding,’ New Albany officials say they will not clear out a homeless camp
Courier Journal – July 27, 2019
Officials in New Albany, Indiana, said they were preparing to clear out a homeless camp along Silver Creek on Friday that they initially believed had been abandoned.
But after learning that people actually live in the camp, officials said they have halted plans to clear what advocates call a quiet area that is home to six full-time residents.
More importantly, New Albany officials and outreach advocates said they are hopeful the episode will result in the creation of more protocols on how to help and support people who are homeless in Southern Indiana.
“We can’t just shove them to another city,” said Paul Stensrud, director of outreach group Jesus Cares at Exit 0. “This is why we need more affordable housing but also more shelters.”
New Albany Police Chief Todd Bailey told the Courier Journal in an email that officers had notified the city’s street department to clean up the camp “as we believed it was abandoned due to a recent fire at the location.”
“We always consult our Code Enforcement unit and City Attorney before taking any action like the dismantling of a camp,” Bailey wrote. “We decided to have additional conversations with those folks before continuing forward.”
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New Albany’s mayor, Jeff Gahan, said in a statement Sunday that the city “has a long history of being a city of industry and compassion, and we are well positioned to carry these traditions forward.”
Gahan wrote that city officials will work with various outreach groups to help the people in need of “support and a safe and secure roof over their heads.”Get the Coronavirus Watch newsletter in your inbox.
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Marcy Garcia, a volunteer with the street outreach group Hip Hop Cares, said police and street department workers showed up to the camp Friday morning with dumpsters and equipment to clear it out.
After learning that people were still living at the camp, Bailey wrote, “we wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt to seek other avenues and not simply tear it down.
“The entire issue was a misunderstanding. … Our goal is to provide services to those in need by utilizing partner agencies, not to make a homeless person move to another unsuitable location.
“No date has been set for any action at that location,” Bailey added. “We will continue our diligence in providing services to the folks who live in the area.”
Stensrud said he spoke with Bailey after the decision was made to hold off on clearing the camp, and he plans on meeting with the police chief and street department officials next week.
“I’m hoping this will (result) in a protocol of how to handle these situations,” Stensrud said. “We don’t want to see the city get sued. I think we’re on the right path.”
Unlike Louisville and its 21-day notice period, New Albany does not have a law requiring officials give homeless camp residents advance notice of plans to clear camps.
Stensrud said that New Albany needs an advance notice policy and that Southern Indiana needs more affordable housing and shelter options.
He added that he feels optimistic about the willingness of New Albany officials to tackle issues surrounding homelessness.
Jeff Gill, founder of Hip Hop Cares, said there is “really nowhere” for the residents of the New Albany camp to go to for shelter.
The Haven House homeless shelter in nearby Jeffersonville is usually full, advocates said.
St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities runs a New Albany shelter for women and children, while the Southern Indiana campus of the Center for Women and Families in New Albany stopped offering emergency shelter services at the end of 2018.
Liberty Place opened this past spring in New Albany but is limited to veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
Bailey said New Albany has “great partner organizations we utilize to get assistance for people in need.”
Garcia and Gill both said the camp along Silver Creek has been kept clean and well-managed by its residents since it formed this past winter.
“This is not an area that is frequented by police,” Garcia said. “It’s not a problem area.”
Garcia and Gill said police were drawn to the camp after a fire burned a shack about one month ago.
A resident of the camp has since rebuilt the shack and also has built two bridges across the creek and steps down toward the creek, Gill said.
“He’s put a lot of work into it,” Gill said of the resident who has a talent for building things.
The conversations surrounding the New Albany camp come as Louisville has shuttered multiple camps in the past several months.
Stensrud said Louisville at least has a low-barrier shelter and storage lockers for those hoping to get off the streets, though the low-barrier shelter at Wayside Christian Mission is not without its own issues.
He’s hopeful that people struggling on the Indiana side of the Ohio River will soon have more places to turn besides makeshift camps.
“We’re hoping this will lead to a better partnership with New Albany officials,” Stensrud said. “… It takes time.”
