PORTLAND, Maine — The City of Portland has scheduled an emergency Health and Human Services and Public Safety Committee meeting for May 2 to address the growing homeless encampment along Bayside Trail.
The news of the emergency meeting comes just one day after signs were posted on tents at the encampment that stated the campsite will be removed.
"Once staff receive policy direction from members of this Committee/City Council, we look forward to continuing to work with community partners to address the needs and concerns of all members of our community," Portland Director of Communications Jessica Grondin wrote in an email on Thursday afternoon.
The encampment had been slated to be cleared as early as mid-morning on Thursday before the emergency meeting was scheduled.
According to Grondin, the reason the encampment was to be removed, is due to "hazardous health and safety concerns."
Right now, shelters in Portland are at, or near capacity, meaning many individuals experiencing homeless have no alternative but to sleep outside.
"In those cases, we recommend that they do not place any tent or other structure or personal belongings on or near a public road or path regularly used by the public in order to avoid becoming an obstruction, which may require removal," Grondin said.
For those currently living in the encampment, many do not know where they'll go when the campsite is shut down.
"Hopefully they come up with a plan before they move everyone. Or at least have a scheduled area where they can people posted in tents of something," Kordell Wadley said. Wadley says he has been living on the Bayside Trail for the last four months.
"A lot of these people, they're really good people. It's just... society needs to give them a chance. They need more people helping out," Wadley said.
Outreach workers, like Dani Laliberte, hope that city leaders can come together with the unhoused community, advocates, outreach workers, and others to find a solution routed in compassion.
"This is not going to be solved in 30 or 60 days. We're going to have people living outside for an extended period of time," Laliberte said. "We need showers, we need wash stations, we need port-o-potties, we need large dumpsters, we need sharp containers, we need to end the stigma on who we think is living outside."
Grondin says the city is working with partners, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to coordinate efforts to provide outreach and services to people experiencing chronic homelessness in Portland, and hope to implement enhancements to the city's approach soon.
Grondin also recommended that individuals experiencing homelessness connect with staff in the city's social services division at 39 Forest Ave to be connected to resources and to be notified of when shelter beds become available.