LOUISVILLE, Ky. — (WHAS11) -- If you're driving downtown, you've likely passed by the large homeless camp on Jefferson and Jackson Street. It's hard to miss, but you won't see it anymore. The city cleared out the camp on Monday morning, leaving the dozens of people living there to find somewhere else to go.
This camp is the closest to several resources like the low barrier shelter and the storage lockers. That's one of the reasons it became such a popular spot for people. With this location no longer an option, access to services could get trickier. It's concerning, but something the city said is necessary.
"We see human waste. We see needles. Some things that are probably fairly dangerous if you came across it, so we really have the responsibility to everybody in the community to make sure that this is as clean as it can be so folks can use the sidewalk,” Chief of Resilience and Community Services Eric Friedlander said. "We're doing what we can do, and of course we can always do more. We've got a long way to go, but this is how we start and do it in a way that is as compassionate as we can be."
"Today, everything is stressful. They're moving. We were here at 6 in the morning, and some people did not know where to start,” St. John’s program assistant Ahmed Sheikh-Hussein said.
The city gave the camp a 21-day notice before the clear out, but it's still tough.
"To be honest, it feels surreal and it feels new to a lot of the people,” Sheikh-Hussein said.
The city said this is the biggest clean-up so far in 2019. Leaders estimate between 50 to 60 people have been living here, and outreach groups want to make sure they still have support.
"We're just giving them the opportunity to store their property or have volunteers move their property to a different location,” Sheikh-Hussein said.
Leaders said there are more resources than ever before, but more affordable housing options are still a needed solution. Getting people off the streets also means more can happen on them.
"Having spoken to a number of developers in terms of financing, etc., it was getting to be very time critical,” Louisville Downtown Partnership Executive Director Rebecca Matheny said.
The Louisville Downtown Partnership welcomes the change, saying it gives a clearer path to progress for that part of town.
"It's been a challenge for residents. It's been a challenge for visitors because it's in the area of a number of attractions for our bourbon district. For businesses both in terms of customer access and for developing businesses, it's been a challenge to secure financing and making sure that investors are comfortable with the area,” Matheny said. "I think that the businesses in the area have had a lot of concerns, but they've also been very patient and understanding that there needed to be certain things in place--like the low barrier shelter, storage options, some additional facilities.... I think they're looking forward to having that area be clear and having that area have better pedestrian connections. We want everyone to have healthy options. We want everyone to have a chance to contribute and to be valued as a citizen and as a human. Hopefully, with a lot of the options that we continue to develop as a community over the last year, there will still be that momentum moving forward."
It's an area the city is committed to moving forward.
"What we're hoping to do is make it very clear that when we come through on our weekly clean-ups, if there is stuff here, we're just going to consider it abandoned. We'll have no camping signs up. So, we're going to try to keep the area as clear as possible,” Friedlander said.
There has been a lot of talk about the timing of this, too, with some saying it purposely came right before Thunder and Derby. Officials insist that bad weather kept it from happening earlier. While we don't know where these people will end up, city leaders stressed that services like the low barrier shelter and storage lockers are up and running for them.