BETHLEHEM, Pa. — There could be a busy few months ahead for social service organizations in Bethlehem, officials said this week.
Norfolk Southern railroad company requested city police assistance in “facilitating the removal” of an estimated 30 people living in tents along 22 acres of its property near the Lehigh River.
Norfolk Southern cited "improper disposal of waste, open fires, structural hazards, and potential interference with active rail operations" happening on land just along the Lehigh-Northampton County line in Bethlehem.An Aug. 25 letter from Norfolk Southern to Bethlehem Police
City police have been asked to help with the removal, with notifications to be posted by Sept. 15 of a Dec. 15 deadline for individuals to be off the property, according to a letter from Norfolk Southern railroad police.
In the meantime, there's an opportunity for “a very serious and pointed talk about the issues of homelessness, what causes it and what the solutions are,” New Bethany Ministries Executive Director Marc Rittle told LehighValleyNews.com in an interview.
Maybe the situation at hand will call for opening new shelters or finding a hotel partner — but time will tell, he said.
“I don't have the answers for what is going to happen at this point in time, but I am very confident in the social service and municipal partners who are working together,” Rittle said.
'People who we know and see every single day'
The nonprofit New Bethany — offering "hope and support to people who experience poverty, hunger, and homelessness" — actively works alongside the Bethlehem Health Bureau, Street Medicine from Valley Health Partners, Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering and the street team from Lehigh Conference of Churches, to name a few.
Rittle said on any given day at the organization's day shelter at Fourth and Wyandotte streets, about 100 people will come by — many of those being familiar faces living along the Lehigh.
“We know the names, we know their stories... These are people who we know and see every single day."Marc Rittle, New Bethany Ministries executive director
“We know the names, we know their stories,” Rittle said. “Oftentimes they have jobs, and we know where their jobs are.
“These are people who we know and see every single day. … Sometimes we do link people to addiction services, and sometimes it's simply trying to help people find transportation, find a job that pays more money — possibly anything that we can do to get a person to the place where eventually they can stay in their own home.”
Next steps
Jennifer McDermott, a Bethlehem resident and local volunteer and administrator with Bethlehem, PA Blessing Boxes Facebook group, said the next step for her following the notice letter is addressing officials at the upcoming Sept. 2 City Council meeting.
Some of the affected individuals may be dealing with severe mental health or drug troubles, she said.
“You can see smatterings of people under here, over there under that bridge, on this, down this little embankment,” McDermott said.
“So I have no way of knowing right now, personally myself, how many people are down there from beginning to end and who is on which part of the property — that’s my next order of business.”
McDermott has been active in supporting a homeless encampment near Allentown’s Jordan Creek.
She said she was just there last weekend serving coffee, breakfast burritos and good company to the people asked to leave by the end of September — as the encampment is located in an active flood zone.
About 30 people affected
Bethlehem’s Community Connections program specializes in part in outreach to the homeless encampments, also offering a line to several other service providers, according to Kristen Wenrich, health director with Bethlehem Health Bureau.
“We visit unsheltered individuals to connect them to resources, assess site conditions, and ensure the continuity of services."Kristen Wenrich, health director with Bethlehem Health Bureau, on the Community Connections program
“We visit unsheltered individuals to connect them to resources, assess site conditions and ensure the continuity of services,” Wenrich said.
“To strengthen this collaboration, we also host bi-weekly calls with the other homeless service providers to ensure coordination of care among shared clients.”
The group’s Coordinated Assistance Resource Events bring multiple services to one location to assist unsheltered people in need. Forty-seven people came by for assistance across two of these recent offerings, she said.
Bethlehem has an estimated 91 people experiencing homelessness, according to the city.
The request
Norfolk Southern Police Department Supervisory Special Agent Maria Brogna, in an Aug. 25 letter addressed to Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott, asked city authorities to notify the individuals by Sept. 15 of a Dec. 15 deadline to be off the property.
The land in question includes about 4.5 acres on either side of the Hill-to-Hill Bridge and State Route 378 in Lehigh County, as well as more than 17 acres at Sand Island Park, Fahy Bridge and more land to the east and past Stefko Boulevard, in both Lehigh and Northampton counties.
"While we are sympathetic to the hardships many of these individuals face, their continued presence has raised significant health and safety concerns."Norfolk Southern Police Department Supervisory Special Agent Maria Brogna
“Over the past several months, we have observed an increasing number of unhoused individuals establishing makeshift encampments on our property,” Brogna said. “While we are sympathetic to the hardships many of these individuals face, their continued presence has raised significant health and safety concerns.
Brogna said Norfolk Southern is open to working with other local partners “to ensure that individuals displaced by this action are offered appropriate resources and support.”
Kott offered a statement: “As for BPD’s next moves, we’re going to be working closely with other city departments and community partners to ensure that those impacted are connected with shelter, treatment, and supportive resources.”
Said Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds in an emailed statement: "We do not feel that being homeless should be a permanent state of existence for anyone, and we will continue to offer services and we will continue to find permanent housing for those who choose to access these services provided by Bethlehem Health Bureau and other services providers,”
