Asheville to dismantle homeless camps, despite CDC recommendations
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) The city of Asheville is breaking with CDC guidance on homeless camps to prioritize public safety for people with and without homes. Assistant city manager Cathy Ball has maintained since January that the city would continue to align public health precautions outlined by the CDC unless tent cities posed significant safety concerns.
She said encampments in Martin Luther King Jr. Park and Aston Park have met that threshold and are deemed too unsafe to continue. Records from the Asheville Police Department show officers responded to 10 calls at the Martin Luther King Jr. Park and 14 calls for service at Aston Park since March 1.
ASHEVILLE - The city has issued removal notices to homeless people at two more tent camps at Riverbend Park near a Walmart and another near Isaac Dickson school on Hill Street.
City of Asheville spokeswoman Polly McDaniel said the city issued seven-day removal notices April 12 to the two encampments, which have popped up in recent weeks. The Riverbend Park site is in front of the East Asheville Walmart, while the one adjacent to Isaac Dickson Elementary School is actually on Duke Energy property, some of which is encroaching onto school property, McDaniel said. While the city remains aligned with CDC guidance, which advises that unsheltered populations be allowed to remain in place during the pandemic to help cut down on the transmission of COVID, if there are safety concerns encampments should be moved, McDaniel said in an email statement.
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City officials, community advocates respond after homeless camp cleared away in Asheville
ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) On Monday, Feb. 1, Asheville city officials say a homeless camp of about seven to 10 people was cleared out from underneath the Lexington Bridge below I-240 in downtown Asheville by crews with North Carolina’s Department of Transportation (NCDOT).
They say NCDOT had received multiple complaints regarding the camp there. But Assistant City Manager Cathy Ball said Monday’s actions did not reflect city policy.
Ball told News 13 policy dictates that people without housing should be given seven days to pack their belongings and find shelter before being asked to leave city property. She said it appears that group was given a matter of hours to vacate the area.
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