BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Early Monday morning, Baltimore City’s homeless advocates gathered under the I-83 bridge where a homeless encampment once was.
Now it’s completely cleared out and cleaned up – a victory in the eyes of these advocates. But, they say, their work isn’t over and their fight continues.
“People who are on the street, they cannot fight for themselves, they’re not in a place mentally,” said one advocate.
At its fullest, the encampment under I-83 had as many as 100 people experiencing homelessness living inside it.
“You’re talking about people living in the woods, you’re talking about people living under bridges,” said Christian Flowers, a homeless advocate who arranged Monday’s press conference.
She said the city needs to do more, calling on officials to keep the resources coming.
In a statement, the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services said, “We know there is still much to be done to eliminate homelessness in Baltimore City… there are approximately 13 smaller encampments in the city, down from 22 last month.”
But Rodney Moore, Executive Director of Beyond Housing Solution, said both advocates and the city can work closer together to close more encampments.
“Let’s come together and make a model, let’s make this encampment a model of what can be done if we collectively come together,” Moore said.
