Items are removed from a camp behind the Wheeler Mission on Bloomington's west side.
(George Hale, WFIU/WTIU News)
The City of Bloomington has cleared a homeless camp for the second time since Mayor Kerry Thomson took office.
City staff — including police and public works employees — joined social workers Thursday in clearing the camp, which lay in a wooded area by the Wheeler Mission on the city’s west side.
Thomson also appeared in person, just as she did earlier this month when the city vacated another camp on the city’s southwest side.
Police posted a trespass notice at the camp Jan. 19. Thomson said the city waited until Thursday to clear the area because of recent weather.
“We’ve had extreme cold, and while we’ve been trying to encourage people to move to shelters and to warmer places, there have been some residents here at this camp that have remained even through this brutal cold,” Thomson said. “Today was really the first day without the cold and the rain that we could assist in moving things without ruining them.”
Mayor Kerry Thomson and Police Chief Michael Diekhoff at the camp Thursday. (George Hale, WFIU/WTIU News)
Thomson said the decision to clear the camp was prompted by two recent homicides there: one in December in which a man was attacked with a machete, and another in January in which a man was shot to death.
“That is just an incredible danger,” she said.
By Thursday morning, only a handful of people who had been staying at the camp were still there. One woman had a dog with her, which she cleared off the main path leading into the camp.
Several battered tents remained scattered in various parts of the area, along with trash bags, empty cans and bottles, shopping carts, tires, and other stray items.
A view of the camp as it appeared Thursday. (George Hale, WFIU/WTIU News)
Members of the media were not allowed access to a part of the camp further down where city staff spent most of their time removing people’s belongings.
People staying at the camp were given 72 hours to move, or else face arrest and have their belongings seized. The previous time the city cleared a camp, people were given 48 hours to clear the area.
Thomson said the city chose to give people more advance notice based on conversations with organizations that serve unhoused people.
“People need adequate notice in order to take care of their belongings and start moving them,” Thomson said. “This really was an urgent situation, and after that second murder, service providers and our departments really felt like we needed to move as quickly as possible.”
An alternate view of the camp as it appeared Thursday. (George Hale, WFIU/WTIU News)
Thomson said the city had done outreach work at the camp for several months, which involved helping people keep their living areas tidy, checking on their wellbeing, helping connect them with service providers and helping them find another place to go.
The city offers storage space for people staying at a camp to store their belongings when a camp is cleared, according to Thomson.
She also said the city typically moves people into an office setting after a camp is cleared to help them figure out what their next steps will be.
Thomson said that of three people at the camp she spoke to Thursday, one found another place to stay while two others were undecided at the time.
“We need to be at a place where we can say to everybody who is from Bloomington, ‘We can offer you a place with a roof over your head and services so that your health needs can be met,’” Thomson said. “We’re not there, and that’s going to be a tomorrow process; but I’m working with service providers and I’ve engaged the faith communities now. We will have all hands on deck to get dignity, compassion and safety for all Bloomington residents.”
