4 dead at homeless camp
Four people living at the Maricopa County homeless encampment in downtown Phoenix have died in the past two weeks, a group of advocates says.
A group of advocates says that, in the past two weeks, four people living at the Maricopa County homeless encampment in downtown Phoenix have died.
In April, Maricopa County dedicated sleeping space in parking lots along Ninth Avenue and Madison Street near the Human Services Campus in downtown Phoenix to allow for more social distancing to decrease the spread of COVID-19 among people living on the streets.
Members of the Fund for Empowerment Homeless Leadership Project and the Homeless Live 144000 Church gathered Saturday morning to honor the four people who died, as well as spread the message of the harsh living conditions in the lot which may be contributing to the recent deaths.
One person died Tuesday, and another on Friday. Elisheyah McKinley, who has lived at the lots since May, estimated that seven people have died in the lots within the last month.
McKinley said the person who died on Friday had diabetes and may have suffered from a diabetic coma. They were found with a needle in their arm, but no one will confirm their cause of death.
The person’s body wasn’t found for two days.
Two other people died by suicide or overdosed, and the third person died due to the hot temperatures, according to Elizabeth Venable, co-founder of Fund for Empowerment.
“It was better on the streets than it is in there,” McKinley said.
Several hundred people currently live in the encampment, but the lots were designed to hold less than a 100. Spaces are painted boxes that are 12by-12 feet.
Portable bathrooms, hand-washing stations, dumpsters and a water station were installed at the lots. Security and staff from the Human Services Campus are also at the site 24/7.
But the refashioned lots are not shaded, so people are mostly exposed to direct sunlight.
Additionally, the city of Phoenix has stopped all food-drop offs near the lots, saying it could exacerbate the spread of COVID-19, according to Venable.
“They are not letting anyone do anything food-related but especially handmade food and non-prepackaged food. They have stopped official groups like Church on the Street,” Venable said in an email. “However, I am under the impression it is for everything and have seen many people stopped with my own eyes.”
McKinley said she was told that the city didn’t want people dropping off food out of fear of spreading the virus.
McKinley proposed “Watch Your Neighbor,” which asks people to check up on those living around them in an effort to curb the deaths at the lot.
A group of five people gathered with flowers and signs displaying “Homeless Lives Matter” and “From Ninth and Madison” to honor the four people who had died.