Newark’s homeless-camp razings faulted

NEWARK — Patricia Perry wanted people to see where Newark’s homeless really live.

In sleeping bags under a bridge. On stairs in a public park. In a two-person tent that burned down when a space heater caught fire.

She brought her large print-out pictures to Newark’s City Council meeting, which drew almost 50 people to raise concern Monday night about three local homeless camps that were destroyed in February.

Perry, co-founder of the Newark Homeless Outreach, described as cruel the conditions that many of the city’s homeless people endure every day.

“They’re afraid,” she told council members. “They’re really afraid of what’s going on on the streets.”

Perry said Newark police officers used box cutters to slash a tent where two homeless people were living in late February. The city’s parks and recreation department, she said, also bulldozed two homeless camps in Newark.

Jen Kanagy, co-founder of the Newark Homeless Outreach, said she and Perry heard the reports from people living at those camps. She was concerned about the city’s lack of transparency.

“I’m asking the city to have some compassion,” Kanagy said. “I’m still asking for the city to have a place to put tents.”

Kanagy and Perry were among the dozen Licking County residents to speak about the city’s homeless population.

Daniel Crawford, 33, of Newark, spoke of his experiences being homeless. As a child, Crawford said he and his family were homeless twice. He remembers bathing with a jug of cold water at the campsite where his family was living, and having ticks burned off his body some mornings. He recalled living at a Budget Inn as a teenager when his family hit hard times again.

Crawford said his experiences have fed his passion for helping the city’s homeless.

“It should not be illegal to exist if you don’t have a home,” he said.

Nancy Welu, a board member at the Freedom School of Licking County, said she was distressed

by the city’s homeless crisis. She said a number of issues compound the problem, including a lack of transportation, mentalhealth services and housing.

Welu called on the council to tell citizens how it will respond.

Newark Councilman Jonathan Lang said he was surprised to learn that the city did, in fact, bulldoze the camps.

“It’s not an easy issue,” he said, “and I want to know what’s going on.”

Councilman Doug Marmee said he was grateful for those who came to speak. Too often, he said, people present problems without offering solutions.

“What I heard tonight, though, was a lot of solutions,” he said.

Marmee told the crowd that the council wants to help find a solution, and he is optimistic that, with the help of community organizations and compassionate citizens, things will get better.