Statement from the office of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on homeless encampments

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“The Mayor has agreed to delay the Fallsway encampment closure scheduled for August 8th given concerns raised by the Journey Home board. There has been significant progress made by the Mayor’s Office of Human Services and the Housing Department to streamline the client assessment and housing placement processes. More progress is expected as Housing and MOHS work closely with the Journey Home board and homeless advocates over the next few weeks.

The Mayor has moved Adrienne Breidenstine, Journey Home’s director, to City Hall and will have her report directly to the Deputy Mayor for Health, Human Services, Education & Youth, effective early next month.

Encampments present unsafe and unhealthy situations, both for the people residing there and for the men, women and children who live and work nearby. Law enforcement officials regularly hear of illegal activities taking place within the encampments, and, in many cases, the people residing in the encampments are the victims.

The City simply cannot allow the encampments to continue indefinitely and is committed to identifying emergency shelter and permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals. The Mayor recognizes that many of the people living in the encampments need additional services — addiction and mental health counseling, job training, and more.”