POTTSTOWN — The clock is ticking for more than than two dozen individuals living on a stretch of land just off the Schuylkill River Trail in Pottstown.
Neon paper signs are posted along the property, which is owned by the borough, alerting those living there that they’ll have until Dec. 1 to vacate the area. The portion encompasses a roughly one-mile stretch, running between the Route 100 and Route 422 overpasses.
Officials estimate between 25 and 30 people experiencing homelessness will be impacted.
“For your personal safety, occupying this location is not permitted. This is private property of the borough of Pottstown, and is located in a floodway, making it culpable to severe flooding during extreme weather that could endanger persons and property,” the notice states.
Not resolving, just moving
This latest development in Montgomery County’s homelessness saga has weighed on Mark Boorse, director of program development with Fort Washington-based Access Services.
“Telling people they can’t be where they are creates a hardship, and the question is how will they fare if they have to move to another spot, and how long will that be viable before they’re told again to leave?” Boorse said, adding that “it’s not resolving anything. It just moves people around.”
Boorse has learned that some people have been there at least a year, while others settled in more recently, having relocated from other areas where sweeps were conducted.
Dan Wanner, 44, has been homeless for nearly one year and has moved around to a few spots in that time. He most recently carved out a space for himself in the woods just beyond the bike path. Wanner had “mixed emotions” when he learned about the sweep.
“I’m worried about myself and all the other people down here. A lot of people down here are good people. It’s just they don’t know where to go either,” he said.
Wanner is still wrapping his mind around the situation, but said he’s trying to take steps to pare down his belongings ahead of the event when he will have to find somewhere else to stay. With less than 30 days, it begs the question if it is in fact a feasible undertaking.
“What’s enough time? Honestly, what is enough time? I don’t know,” Wanner said.
Montgomery County issue
Officials have attributed the area’s increasing cost of living, economic ramifications from the COVID-19 pandemic, displacements resulting from Hurricane Ida, and the diminishing affordable housing stock as reasons for an uptick in homelessness in Montgomery County.
Additionally, the Coordinated Homeless Outreach Center, a 50-bed homeless shelter and resource center situated on the grounds of the Norristown State Hospital, closed last June amid the acquisition of 68 acres of state land by the municipality.
It was the largest shelter and the only one for single adults in Montgomery County. Some smaller shelters exist for families, but there is currently none for single adults except during Code Blue emergency nights.
Hoteling services have been made available, but no new facility has been acquired to replace CHOC.
Numbers are high
This comes as 357 people were found to be experiencing homelessness in the annual Montgomery County Point-in-Time Count in January. The federally mandated initiative aims to get a glimpse of an area’s homelessness situation. The 2022 count recorded 568 people sleeping in emergency shelters, transitional housing or outside.
“We have record numbers of people who are experiencing homelessness, and it’s going to require a different kind of response … and that has to happen on a community level,” Boorse said. “So when someone says, well, we need to address this problem by telling people you can’t be there, we need to understand that’s not a sufficient solution. That will not actually address the needs of the community by doing that.”
Earlier sweep
Another instance of removing homeless individuals from PECO-owned land occurred earlier this year, just beyond the Schuylkill River Trail’s Norristown section. The energy company needed to clean up hazardous materials and remove vegetation around the electric transmission corridor along the 3,000-square-foot parcel. Six people were eventually given 45 days to find somewhere else to go.
While Boorse previously said the process was “handled in a respectful way,” the situation occurring along the same trail is different.
“This is far more than that. So 20 or 25 people is just significantly a larger number of people to … help,” Boorse said, adding “this is larger than what we’ve seen in the last couple years.”
“Usually, what’s happened in the past is it’s been smaller. It’s been half-a-dozen or maybe 10 people, and it’s because of a circumstance or incident,” Boorse said.
Boorse recalled an instance where a portion of woods behind a park in Pottstown had to be sprayed for mosquitos, prompting the need for people to leave.
“This … is larger and … it’s a broader response to the issue of homelessness. There’s not a specific thing that is requiring this to happen,” Boorse said.
Borough cites safety concerns
Pottstown Borough Administrator Justin Keller said in a statement to MediaNews Group that “a number of tents, structures and other items of the unhoused” were found on borough-owned property “within the floodway near Keystone Boulevard.”
Keller maintained borough officials have “taken steps to proactively address these concerns with a focus on compassion and understanding,” and cited “safety reasons” for the move.
Keller stressed “this unified effort will be conducted as promptly and efficiently as possible but still providing for dignity, respect, and compassion for the unhoused needing to be relocated.”
“The safety of individuals located in this area, as well as the well-being of the general public, has prompted the Borough’s decision to initiate a comprehensive effort,” he said. “This undertaking includes ample notice, outreach and engagement, relocation of affected individuals, the removal of structures, and the cleanup of any refuse and debris within the floodway zone.”
Waiting list for beds
“A month, or even 45 days, isn’t really sufficient to address even most of the people that are outside and the wait to get into housing is even longer,” Boorse said. “When we talk about providing a sufficient alternative for people to be inside, there just isn’t any on the horizon, and so what we can do is we can help a couple people, but we can only help a couple people at a time.”
Pottstown Beacon of Hope Executive Director Tom Niarhos agreed.
“I just think it’s narrow sighted. It’s very short sighted. It may solve an immediate issue that they see as an issue, but it does not do anything to help in the long term,” Niarhos said.
Boorse and Niarhos recalled finding out about the borough’s preliminary intentions to have the property vacated earlier this fall. The notice stated the borough provided notice of its intent on Oct. 6. Niarhos said during conversations with the borough, he was asked if information about his organization could be printed on pamphlets along with other resources that could be distributed to those in need.
“I said of course, and instead of printing a pamphlet and putting a notice to vacate sign up, they put a notice to vacate and information from what was supposed to be on the pamphlet right on the sign,” Niarhos said.
He’s since received calls from trail users “telling me that it’s my responsibility these people should be inside because that’s what the sign says because that’s how it’s read.”
The notice directed those in need of assistance to call 211 or Montgomery County’s mobile crisis unit at 855-634-4673. Additionally, the notice stated Beacon of Hope’s warming center that opened on Nov. 1 “will have shelter spaces accessible, and they can be contacted through 211.”
Additional Code Blue shelter spaces are anticipated to open in Lansdale, Norristown and Plymouth Meeting. Code Blue declarations in Montgomery County are issued when weather or wind chill falls below 20 degrees, according to Todd Stieritz, public affairs coordinator for the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety. Those in need of shelter should call 211 or text 898-211 for assistance when a declaration is issued.
Pottstown’s shelter saga
Last year, Pottstown Beacon of Hope operated a 35-bed warming center from November to April out of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Pottstown, but the borough denied a zoning request to keep it open.
The plan was to build a permanent shelter off West High Street, but delays caused by property title complications forced the nonprofit agency to adopt a mobile strategy for this year. Beacon of Hope is partnering with other area religious institutions to provide overnight shelter for those in need. St. James Lutheran Church, Christ Episcopal Church, Bethel Community Church of Pottstown, Congregation Hesed Shel Emet, and First Baptist Church will provide shelter on a rotating basis.
Beacon of Hope will operate an intake center every evening at Christ Episcopal Church, registering those who are staying, and then transporting them to whichever warming center location is being operated that month where they will have a warm bed from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Niarhos expressed frustration with the overall situation, noting “the irony is they don’t want us to be open, but then they’re putting us on a sign telling us that we’re available as a solution to people being outside.”
Next steps
“I think people aren’t sure exactly what to do,” Boorse said. “Some of those folks are frustrated as well because they know that they don’t have a solution.
“Some of them have been moved several times and so they’re frustrated with that,” he continued. “When you have to move it’s really a hardship so there’s a sense of being overwhelmed or being burdened with the idea of having to move again or start over again.”
“How (are) you going to push out the people that don’t have anywhere to go to begin with?” Wanner said.
Other advocates have also gotten involved to try and help a handful of people living just off the trail. Carolyn Johnson, Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania’s chief counsel, estimated between five and 10 individuals have opted to participate in an effort to get assistance.
“We’re certainly exploring options to assist them. We’re exploring legal options to provide them with assistance,” Johnson said.
When asked what that entails, she said “that entails whether or not there should be housing offered by the borough.”
Boorse said conversations continue with the borough about whether “this is really a viable expectation.” In the meantime, Boorse and Niahros are working to help prepare people for what’s to come.
“I know that we are doing what we can do and that’s trying to develop the individual needs and put that on paper so they can be prioritized for any programs that are available,” Niahros said. “But again, the need is just so much greater than the availability.”
MediaNews Group staff writer Evan Brandt contributed to this report.
