More than 100 evicted from Pensacola homeless encampment
By Hal Scheurich
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PENSACOLA, Florida (WALA) — The city of Pensacola gave marching orders to more than 100 homeless people who created an encampment beneath the spans of Interstate-110 there. The deadline to move was 5:00 p.m. Monday, January 31, 2022, and most were already gone when Monday came.
“I’ve started over with nothing, you know but always come back. It’s just in my nature,” said a man who calls himself, ‘Right On.’
Right On said he’ll be starting over again, for the 39th time in his years on the street. This time he hopes to have something to take with him. He repairs and sells bikes under the spans of I-110 at Hollice T. Williams Park. Right On was one of just 11 folks left at the encampment Monday morning. Starting Tuesday, February 1, 2022, what’s left behind and deemed to be trash will be thrown out by the city. It’s a frustrating proposition for Right On.
“I have many options. It’s not like…yeah. There’s other places. I mean, it’s just…I’ve acquired this in a year,” he said with a tone of dismay as waved his hand across all his possessions.
So, how did this spot underneath I-110 become such a large encampment for the homeless population in the first place? City officials said it began when area shelters closed their doors in 2020 as COVID-19 spread through the city. It’s an area the city leases from the Florida Department of Transportation and allowed the homeless to make it a temporary home of. Now, with shelters back open and more than $1.5 million dollars given by the city to various help organizations to address the problem, the end is here.
Melissa Johnson with Fearless Community is program manager from SOS Camp, one of the groups getting some of the money to help. She said there are more than 100 success stories from relocations there.
“A lot of them are going back to families. Some of them are going to programs that are local and then, many of them have gone to the Safe Camp with me and that is where finally, couples can stay together,” Johnson explained. “That is the big change here, that not just COVID did that but the new money that came into the city, was able to do for them.”
The city of Pensacola will come through and begin clearing what’s left so the entire area can be cleaned up. Personal belongings left behind will be stored safely, on-site until March 16, 2022, so that they can be claimed.
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