A few tarps. An empty suitcase. A laundry basket filled with dishes.
That’s all that was left Wednesday evening after someone cleared a homeless encampment — the second in one week — in East Lampeter Township.
Those familiar with the move said about a dozen people were displaced from a spot in a wooded area next to the Sonic restaurant on Lincoln Highway East, but no one seems to know who carried out the action and at whose direction.
Dave Costarella, a Lancaster Township man who organizes park cleanups with the homeless, confirmed the people were displaced. He said the encampment was cleared Monday, but he did not have many other details.
“Nobody will claim whose orders they were,” Costarella said. “I’m not sure where everyone is at.”
A homeless man who identified himself as Jason said a group of people staying together were told a few days in advance that the area would be cleared of their belongings. He said a machine “bulldozed” through the area Monday morning, though no one spoke to them. Jason said he believes a few nearby property owners broke up the encampment.
“We’re being forced out of everywhere, it seems,” said Jason, who has been living on the streets since April with his 2-year-old dog, Crush.
The 2-year-old dog Crush owned by Jason, a homeless man who said he has been living on the streets since April. Jason and Crush were forced to leave an encampment near Sonic in East Lampeter Township.
Paige McFarling, executive director of the Lancaster County Food Hub, said the nonprofit was notified Monday that homeless people were being turned out in East Lampeter, and an outreach worker stopped by the site to help people remove their personal belongings. By the time the worker arrived, everyone was gone.
McFarling said she has no information on the well-being of the people who were staying at the encampment, and she does not know who authorized the cleanup.
Attempts to reach Sonic and Gish’s Furniture, which plans to develop a new location near the site, were unsuccessful.
East Lampeter Township Manager Ralph Hutchison said Thursday he was not aware of the second encampment cleanup. When asked whether he had spoken to the property owners about the encampment, Hutchison said “I don’t recall.”
Last week, another homeless encampment in the township, next to the Walmart off Lincoln Highway East, was cleared suddenly. Hutchison at the time said Walmart authorized the cleanup, though store representatives in a statement said township officials asked the company to address concerns with the property.
Hutchison on Thursday said he had spoken with Walmart and East Towne Center officials about clearing debris from the property but did not say whether the debris referred to tents, sleeping bags and personal belongings.
“There was a lot of debris,” he said.
Services limited
The clearings come as homeless individuals across the county struggle to find safe spaces to sleep at night. Lancaster city officials in August began strictly enforcing camping regulations in parks, prompting many people to leave the city to find other places to rest, including East Lampeter, which is due east of the city
Moreover, the county does not have an operational low-barrier shelter, which many homeless people rely on because they place no preconditions, such as sobriety, on the people who stay there. The shelter closed in June and a new 80-bed shelter won’t open until December.
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McFarling said the Food Hub continues to work with people who were displaced from the Walmart encampment. Several people went into hotels and are beginning to make plans for moving forward. One man was reunited with his daughter, McFarling said, and a few couples were planning to rent.
Miguel, a man who identifies as homeless, said he “woke up to the sound of a wood chipper next to his tent” last week when the encampment was cleared by Walmart. He spent a week in a hotel, moving out Wednesday, and has been looking for a new place to stay.
“If we try to go to different woods, they do the same thing,” Miguel said. “It’s hard enough trying to make it day by day.”
LeAnn, a woman who identifies as homeless, also was forced out of the Walmart area, calling it “traumatic.” She said she’s struggling to find a place to stay.
Lancaster County Redevelopment Authority is paying for full- and part-time outreach workers at several nonprofits to fill the services gap left by the closure of its low-barrier shelter. Several outreach workers from the Food Hub, Tenfold and Blueprints for Recovery assisted with relocating people last week. East Lampeter supervisors also approved a $10,000 contract to hire outreach workers at Conestoga Valley SEEDS in September.
Deb Jones, director of the Lancaster County Homelessness Coalition, said her organization has limited options for helping people who have been displaced. She referred to the shelter opening in December, directing donations to lanc.news/ShelterDonate.
“In the meantime, we urge our community members to become more knowledgeable of local services including community meals, clothing banks, and the Street Outreach team, to support the agencies providing services, and to financially support the shelter project,” Jones said in an email statement.
McFarling reiterated comments made last week by Jake Thorsen, Tenfold’s chief impact officer, that clearing away encampments makes it harder for outreach workers to connect clients with the services they need.
“It’s just a shame, considering that a lot of folks continuously are going to be moved from place to place throughout the city and county,” Thorsen said last week. “Outreach workers lose their touch points every time this happens.”
ANN REJRAT | Staff Writer
