MOUNT VERNON – Residents on the west end of Mount Vernon want help dealing with threats, trespassing and the dangers of human waste caused by people living in a homeless camp on an island of Clinton Township property surrounded by the city.
Mayor Matt Starr pulled together residents along with city, county and outside agencies to find solutions to problems involving property rights, the public’s safety and law enforcement.
Residents like Tonja Kent, who discussed the problem at City Council’s April 26 meeting; Steve Saldana of South Adams Street; and Don Lang of Fountain Street told the group the problems they’ve had.
“Our neighborhood is also being affected by multiple illegal activities ranging from theft all the way to personal safety,” Kent said.
The residents say they are scared to go to sleep in their own homes or let their children play outside or at nearby Arch Park. Firewood that serves as family income has been stolen from their property. Outdoor spigots are used as the homeless people wash themselves off. They find the homeless sleeping on their porches. They see them walking through their neighborhood with machetes slung on their backs. The syringes and other drug paraphernalia add to their worries. One grandmother won’t let her children go outside before she has checked to make sure nothing dangerous has been left for them to find.
Saldana shared a letter from his youngest daughter, who said it was scary to go outside. She has witnessed drug deals in broad daylight. And someone has tried to shoot him.
“There’s a lot of people who live in the west end, and they’re elderly and they’re scared to death,” said Don Lang of Fountain Street.
Lang wasn’t alone in saying it’s time to quit giving homeless people things and let them hit bottom so they would try to get better.
Kent described an Ohio county’s community shelter board that covers prevention, shelter, street outreach, rapid rehousing and permanent support of housing as something to try locally.
“It’s very difficult, and very difficult in Mount Vernon to get officials engaged in a collaborative effort when it comes to city versus county versus township,” she said.
Nathan Smith, the Columbus businessman who brought Bird scooters to Mount Vernon, joined the meeting at the mayor’s invitation. Smith has partnered with the Franklin County community shelter board for the past 12 years.
Smith said he operated the Midwest’s largest homeless shelter, so he can refer them to many people who can help.
He noted that the homeless people and the property owners who allow them to camp on their properties need incentives to change, like removing spigots so they don’t trespass to bathe at their homes.
Police Chief Robert Morgan said the City has ordinances about living or camping on City-owned property. The people they encounter know the property lines and stay off City property. Officers encourage them to move on, which they did last week at Ohio Cumberland Gas Company property.
“My understanding is they just moved down the river and over towards under the bridge, back out into some more county property,” Morgan said.
Knox County Sheriff David Shaffer said his deputies see the same “frequent fliers” that residents do. When they make arrests, those people may get a suspended sentence or spend some time in jail and then get released.
“They are not going to change because there’s a certain segment of the population that do not want to,” he said.
Josh Gutridge of the Probation Department said they have taken major strides in helping homeless people. Funding has been obtained to help them with their first month’s rent. He does a homeless count regularly. With the help of other local agencies, he has tried to make an impact.
Starr said additional meetings will be held.
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