‘I don’t know what to do’: Allentown starts latest homeless camp clearing

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — City crews got to work Monday morning tearing down another homeless encampment along Jordan Creek.

Workers pulled tents from the tree line between the creek and the railroad and dragged shopping carts into dumpsters on the first day of what is expected to be a two-week, two-part clear-out.

A man sitting in a parking lot near the office complex at 333 Union St., where city crews staged, said he and about a dozen others were evicted Monday morning.

The man, who said he is an Easton native who soon will be 50, said he has “no clue” where he would lay his head Monday night.

“There’s no place to go,” he said. He said most of those evicted will split up and go “our own way.”

The man was watching over another resident’s pile of belongings as they shuttled loads to another location. All he had was a tent and a backpack with some clothes and medications to take with him wherever he goes.

“I don’t know what to do; I really don’t,” he told LehighValleyNews.com. “I’m stuck. I’m really stuck.”

'Don't look back; just move on'

The man, who said he is disabled and can't work, said he had only been at the camp for a few weeks.

He said he considered spending nights in Allentown YMCA’s Warming Station, which opened a month and a half early to shelter homeless residents.

But the facility already is full most nights, he said.

He said he's now thinking about leaving the Lehigh Valley after a half-century in the region and pondering a “move down South.”

“I want to get out” of Allentown, he said. “I’m trying to get back on my feet, but … I don’t want to stay around here anymore.

“Don’t look back, just move on,” he said of his mindset after his eviction Monday.

At least one resident evicted Monday also was pushed out when the city shut down a homeless camp about a mile north starting in late September.

Another eviction scheduled

Crews this week are clearing a swath of land along Jordan Creek from Union Street to Hamilton Street.

They’re due to clear out tents and debris along the creek between Hamilton and Gordon streets next week.

A man who said he recently was homeless stood on the Hamilton Street bridge Monday afternoon, watching a small bulldozer knock down trees and tents.

The man, who identified himself as Juan, said he sympathizes with those forced out Monday after living under a city bridge until saving up enough more for a room at a nearby apartment complex.

“I feel sorry for them,” he said. “Where’s all these people going to go?”

The Allentown YMCA could not immediately provide information about its current capacity.

Allentown's Commission on Homelessness last week urged city officials to provide $100,000 in funding in next year's budget to help residents avoid homelessness or deal with its impacts.